Chinese Troops Near Indian Border Receive New All-Terrain Vehicle for Winter Logistics Support

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Xinjiang Military Command stationed close to the border with India received a new type of all-terrain vehicle built to provide logistics support for the plateau border defense troops as winter draws close and as China-India border tensions again risk rising.

The unit that commissioned the new vehicle is garrisoned at a high-altitude, snowy border region that is extremely cold, lacks oxygen and has a complex terrain, which causes difficulties in logistics support including the transport of supplies, the command announced on its official WeChat account on Sunday.

After several on-the-spot investigations, the vehicle was tailored to suit the needs of the troops, as it uses caterpillar tracks that aren't made from metal. These tracks are sturdy, do not damage road surfaces, have high mobility and can carry heavy loads.

The vehicle can traverse freely in complex terrains like shallow river banks, deserts, mountains and snowfields even under bad weather conditions, and provide reliable support to the supply transportation of plateau troops.

"Logistics support is very important to the military, particularly at locations with challenging natural environments. This specially designed all-terrain vehicle will serve this purpose well and allow the troops to be at 100 percent combat readiness at all times," a Chinese military expert was quoted as saying by semi-official Global Times news outlet on Monday.

According to a report by government-owned China Central Television (CCTV), some PLA units started to use this type of vehicle in January, but it was not revealed at that time if it was being used by the Xinjiang Military Command.

The new all-terrain vehicle can tread over slopes of 35 degrees and deliver 1.5 tons of goods to troops stationed at altitudes higher than 5,000 meters.

The delivery of the vehicle comes at a time when China and India failed to reach an agreement during the 13th round of corps commander-level talks over issues related to the western section of the China-India border.