Martial arts trainers near Tibet border, says Chinese media

BEIJING:EARLIER this month, China deployed martial arts trainers and members of a mountain club in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), which border India, state media reports said on Sunday.

While the reports did not cite a reason for the deployment, the development has come amid the ongoing border tensions between the two countries, which began in early May and escalated into a deadly brawl on June 15, in which 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese troopers were killed.

Bilateral agreements between the two neighbours prevent the use of guns along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Among the newly deployed personnel and five new militia divisions are former members of a Mount Everest Olympic torch relay team and fighters from a mixed martial arts club.

The new troops were recruited with the aim of “strengthening the border and stabilising Tibet,” the People’s Liberation Army’s official military newspaper China National Defence News reported.

The Enbo Fight Club recruits would “greatly raise the organisation and mobilisation strength” of troops and their “rapid response and support ability,” the newspaper quoted Tibet commander Wang Haijiang as saying. The news of the troop deployment was also broadcast by the national broadcaster China Central Television.

THE NEW TROOPS WERE RECRUITED WITH AIM OF ‘STRENGTHENING THE BORDER AND STABILISING TIBET’,

THE REPORTS SAID.