China Building Cutting-Edge Rockets For High Altitude Locations, Could Be Deployed On India Border

China is building rockets for its artillery units that will be propelled by “electromagnetic catapult” technology and can be used at high altitude locations in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), state media has reported, indicating the projectiles could be deployed against India.

Describing the innovation as “unprecedented”, the report said the catapult-propelled rockets can hit targets beyond 200 km and will be more powerful and effective than conventional artillery guns.

The report didn’t specifically mention India, though it quoted the military scientist developing the technology as saying such rockets could potentially have been used during a military incident on a plateau in southwest China’s border region.

That didn’t leave too much room for doubt about where such rockets could be deployed.

China and India were locked in a 73-day standoff on the Doklam (Donglang in Chinese) plateau near the Sikkim border last year.

The Communist Party of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had repeatedly threatened to retaliate after Indian soldiers took position in Doklam to prevent Chinese personnel from building a strategic road in the region controlled by Beijing but claimed by Thimphu.

The standoff was resolved through diplomatic negotiations, partly because the Indian Army was said to be at an advantage in the area.

The “electromagnetic catapult rocket artillery technology” being developed at a PLA research centre in Beijing could negate that advantage, experts said.

Courtesy:HT