China is forming new Tibetan youth militias.

June 23, 2021

Dharamshala, 23^rd June: China’s military has raised new militias made up of Tibetan youths in the strategic Chumbi Valley in Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) as part of increased efforts to recruit more Tibetans amid the standoff with India on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). According to the HindustanTimes, these are the first reports of the formation of new Tibetan militias in the LAC’s eastern sector. Tibetans enlisted into the PLA’s Special Tibetan Army Unit are also sent to Buddhist monks for blessings after completing their training.

These improvements come during a border standoff that began in May of last year, as well as a rapid build-up of infrastructure on the Chinese side of the LAC, including airports, helipads, missile facilities, and air sites. After a limited pullback of soldiers, armored units, and artillery on the north and south banks of Pangong Lake in February, the disengagement process along the LAC has also paused.

At least two groups of Tibetans have been recruited into the militias, each consisting of roughly 100 young people. According to the residents, one batch of soldiers has completed their training with the PLA and has been dispatched to several sites throughout the Chumbi Valley, including Yadong, Cheema, Rinchengang or Renqinggang, PB Thang, and Phari. The second group of soldiers is being trained at a PLA site in Phari, citing intelligence reports and communications intercepts from various security services. The militias are now operating without uniforms or ranks, according to the Hindustan’s sources.

The militias are distinct from the PLA’s recently formed Special Tibetan Army Unit. On April 17, the Hindustan Times initially reported on the PLA’s preparations to build its first formation of Tibetan soldiers. Because of the important location of Chumbi Valley, a 100-kilometer protuberance of Chinese territory lying between Bhutan and Sikkim in the west, Indian security authorities are keeping a careful eye on the situation. The valley’s location has long raised fears that it could be used to begin operations to disrupt the Siliguri Corridor’s key communications lines.