Report: China test-fires missile in Xinjiang, brings down plane in drill
Chinese ballistic missiles
According to reports, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Xinjiang Military Command of China tested a surface-to-air missile in a high-altitude location of Xinjiang that brought down a targetedaircraft.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP), based in Hong Kong, stated that on August 15, India's Independence Day, CCTV, the national broadcaster of China, performed live-fire drills with a "new type of surface-to-air missile" at a height of more than 4,500 metres (14,760 feet).
“Military observers said that from the footage, the weapons appeared to be HQ-17A air defence missiles, part of an integrated system that can fit in a single vehicle, and regarded as very mobile and accurate,” the SCMP report said.
According to the SCMP report, which cited an unnamed military observer, the test served as a deterrent in the "countdown to the India-US drills along India's disputed border with China."
“The missile hit a target plane flying at a low altitude on its first attempt. Operators of the system took evasive action and hit a target in a second round of strikes despite strong electromagnetic interference from the aircraft,” the report added.
The ongoing military tension between India and China in the eastern Ladakh region serves as the backdrop for the missile exercise.
Thousands of soldiers are stationed on either side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that separates India and China, despite diplomatic and military negotiations that have failed to fully secure the withdrawal of all troops from flashpoints.
A new version of the HQ-17A short-range air defence missile, which is a component of a system that the Xinjiang command commissioned in May last year, was used in the drills, according to Yue Gang, a retired PLA colonel, who spoke to SCMP.
During the military parade in Beijing honouring National Day on October 1, the HQ-17A made its first public debut of 2019.
(With inputs from agencies)
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