Military command in Xinjiang puts new Z- 20 helicopters into service

The People’s Liberation Army ( PLA) Xinjiang Military Command has commissioned China’s newly developed, plateau- capable utility helicopter, the Z- 20. Observers noticed on Monday that the choppers seem to have modified engines that could boost their performance and survivability.

The command troops vowed to safeguard China’s western border after recently conducting helicopter exercises over Pangong Tso on the China- India border Line of Actual Control ( LAC).

An Indian official said that the Indian troops had “transgressed more times than the Chinese soldiers along the LAC,” The Hindu reported.

Z- 20 helicopters are seen in footage released by China Central Television

( CCTV) introducing an army aviation brigade affiliated with the PLA Xinjiang

Military Command, indicating the Z- 20 has entered service with the command, analysts said.

The brigade, dubbed the Tianshan Eagles, is responsible for the defense of

China’s western border line, ranging from snowy mountains to deserts, CCTV said.

Unlike previously observed Z- 20 that had engine exhaust openings facing outward, the choppers seen in the CCTV video have engine exhaust openings facing upward, observers noted.

PLA Xinjiang Military Command army aviation troops recently conducted a series of combat- oriented exercises including low- air defense penetration, as their Mi- 171 helicopters flew over Pangong Tso, a lake divided by the LAC on the China- India border, CCTV reported on Sunday.

India’s Union Minister of State for State Transport and Highways V. K. Singh said that “if China has transgressed 10 times [ along the LAC], we must have done it at least 50 times.” The remark was regarded as a public admission that India should be accountable for border disputes.

India’s attitude toward the border issue lacks seriousness. Zhao Gancheng, director of the Center for Asia- Pacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said that “Provoking China will not bring any benefit to India, and India will not gain an inch of land because of its remarks.”

“Provoking China will not bring any benefit to India, and India will not gain an inch of land because of its remarks.”

Zhao Gancheng, director of the Center for AsiaPacific Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies