The End of Sacredness

The announcement by The Global Times of a mega hydropower station on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Siang-Brahmaputra) has different dimensions.
I shall try to look at a few of them.

 

The Propaganda Game
First, there is no doubt that there is a propaganda aspect.
After the Ladakh fiasco where President Xi Jinping did not expect the Indian Army to resist his land-grabbing tactics (‘salami slicing’ or whatever you call them), he has to save his face in front of his colleagues of the Central Committee and Politburo. To bring the threat of a mega dam to the Northern Indian border is a clever move.
The fact that the news came out in The Global Times, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, is telling. Xi and his colleagues are aware that the tabloid has become the new Bible for the Indian media, which faithfully reports every line printed in it.
Xi believes that the Party (meaning himself) is always right, how could he have blundered in Ladakh. To regain some standing, he has to intimidate India. A mega dam or hydropower plant, thrice the size of the Three Gorges Dam, threatening the life in the North-East is the best way to divert the attention from the Pangong tso.

Recently, the Chinese President published a new book, On the Party’s Propaganda and Ideological Work (Beijing: Institute of Party History and Documentation of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, 2020).
It is a collection of 52 speeches by Xi on Marxist Ideology and Propaganda from August 19, 2013 to February 23, 2020.
Xi believes that the Chinese people should be proud of “the excellent traditional Chinese culture nurtured by the Chinese nation’s 5,000 years of civilized history.”
But Chinese culture should be interpreted using ‘Marxism as the guide’.
He said that all is not acceptable in Chinese tradition, Xi wants to keep only what is compatible with Marxism: “The charm of Chinese culture should be used in international propaganda, to spread a gentle image of the CCP as part of its soft power.”
We have seen the outcome in Ladakh.
Xi wrote “China is red, and this color cannot be diluted. It is necessary to tell the stories of the party, the revolution, the origin, the stories of heroes and martyrs, strengthen revolutionary tradition education, patriotic education, and youth ideological and moral education, and carry on the red gene to ensure that the red country will never change its color.”
Now, the Red Country has lost face, to bring back the ‘mega dam’, this utopian project in the limelight is a way to show India that the Emperor can take up the most impossible tasks (with the significant risks for the neighbour downstream).
But let us see how much fund is allotted to the project and if Beijing is really serious; its feasibility is still doubtful. 

A Special River: the Yarlung Tsangpo
In 1818, the British started the Great Trigonometrical Survey, the ancestor of the Survey of India. They thought that the best way to ‘conquer’ the subcontinent was to map the subcontinent …and beyond.
Their best surveyors were put on the job. George Everest, who later gave his name to the highest peak of the planet, was one of them. One of the main objectives of the Survey was to acquire a better geographic knowledge of the remote Himalayan areas, particularly Tibet.
The resourceful Englishmen decided to use ‘locals’ (they called them ‘pundits’) for surveying (and spying) the Roof of the World. One of these pundits was Kintup, alias KP, a native of Sikkim. He was sent to Tibet with a special mission: to find out the course of the Yarlung Tsangpo. Was the mighty river flowing towards South-East Asia like the Mekong or to Burma…or to India?
After several years of adventure (and a few months working as a slave in a remote village in Southern Tibet), the illiterate KP found that the Yarlung Tsangpo and the Brahmaputra were the same river. He was however unable to explore some 120 miles of the river’s course where the Brahmaputra drops from an altitude of 12,000 to 3000 feet. KP tried to follow the river downstream, but was only able to reach an area called Pemakoe, forty miles north of British territory in Assam (today Arunachal).
KP also tried to send marked logs down the river to see if they would reach Assam. Unfortunately, nobody got his message in British India and when he returned to Assam in 1884 (after four years on the mountain tracks), nobody believed his story. It is only several years later that the Survey found some of the logs in Bengal and that KP became famous. 

Opening of the tunnel to Metok in 2013

Isolated no More
On the eve of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India in 2013, several Chinese official websites splashed the news that this area, also known as Metok [the Chinese pronounce it ‘Motuo’], had finally been ‘opened’.
The Chinese TV proudly announced: “Motuo, Dream of connecting to outside world to come true”. A CCTV reporter elaborated: “Motuo is the only county in China which cannot be accessed by car. The county is located in the southeastern part of the Tibet Autonomous Region. The harsh natural conditions meant building a highway connecting Motuo to outside world was once considered a dream. However, just in a week, the last tunnel is due to be completed for the Motuo Highway and the dream will come true.”
Why was this news, which has grave strategic implications for India, made the headlines in China just one day before Wen’s arrival in Delhi?

The 2013 First Road to Metok
Xinhua then reported: “Construction of the tunnel on a highway that links Tibet's Metok County to the outside world was completed when explosives blasted through the final section. The construction crew announced the success of the blast, which took 152 kg of explosives, and workers from both ends met. It took construction workers more than two years to complete the construction of the 3,310-meter Galongla tunnel, built at an altitude of 3,750 meters. It is part of a planned highway that will link Metok County to the outside world, which is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2011.”
I then wrote on this blog: “It is maybe true that Metok was the last county with no highway link in China, but who can believe that all these efforts are only for a population of 11,000?”
It was just a message to Delhi that Beijing is ready to activate other threats in case of conflict.
Is it different today? It is not.
I have mentioned the second route to Metok yesterday.

The Bailey Report
Captain FM Bailey of the Political Department (in fact an Intelligence officer) mentioned Pemakoe in his Report on an Exploration on the North-East Frontier (1913). Based on this report, the McMahon Line was drawn.
Bailey described the area: “The valley of the Tsangpo below the gorge is known as Pemako [or Pemakoe] a vague term the district having no definite boundaries. Formerly this valley was inhabited by Abors but, about 100 years ago, a large number of people from eastern Bhutan and the neighbourhood of Tawang immigrated into this country. They came in search of a land of promise which ancient prophesies had called Pemako and which was believed to be near the frontiers of India.”
He quoted Jacques Bacot, the French explorer about a well-known prophesy: “when their religion was persecuted in Tibet, the people should go to Pemako where they would find a land where rivers flowed with milk, where crops grew without the necessity of any labour, and whence their religion would spread over the whole world.”
In his book Le Thibet revolté, Bacot wrote that the ravages of the Chinese soldiery on the eastern Tibetan frontier “caused a fresh migration in search of this land and he describes the villages deserted by the inhabitants who had fled from the Chinese to seek this land of promise.”
Bailey commented: “The descendants of these first immigrants now form to a large extent the population of the valley; they are called Monbas or Drukpas indiscriminately: the former name means an inhabitant of the Tibetan district of Monyul near Tawang, and the latter means Bhutanese. They still speak a dialect of Monba, the language spoken near Tawang.”
It remained the most isolated place in the world.

The Sacred Place by Excellence
For the Tibetans, the region is one of the most pristine of their country. They consider the area around the Great Bend of the Brahmaputra as the home of the Goddess Dorjee Pagmo, Tibet’s Protecting Deity. Many believe that Pemakoe is the sacred realm often referred to in their scriptures: the last hidden Shangrila. It is also said that the great Indian tantric master Padmasambhava visited the place during the eighth century and tamed the local spirits to conceal spiritual scriptures for future generations.
The road and the hydropower plant will not only be responsible for the disappearance of one of the last sacred places of this planet, but will also have serious environmental, strategic and military consequences for India.
It might be a dream for China; but it will be a nightmare for India.

The Mystic Aspect: The Hidden Land of Pemakoe
Ian Baker, a Himalayan and Buddhist scholar and author of The Heart of the World, the hidden land of Pemako extensively wrote on Guru Padmasambhava, ‘the king of all hidden lands’, visiting the area.
Baker explained: “The very eastern end of the Himalayan range is where the [Yarlung] Tsangpo Brahmaputra river makes this great bend, a hairpin bend, around the peak of Namcha Barwa, at the very terminus of the Himalayan range. These are described as the texts that provide liberation, by hearing about the great and blissful land of Pemako in words attributed to Padmasambhava. That is the path to enlightenment.”
Baker visited several time Pemakoe: “I tried to follow what is called the sequence of the outer and inner circle into Pemako, leading into a kind of a paradisical round at the very heart of the circumambulation.”

 He described the mythical place, which may soon be destroyed by the Chinese engineers: “Gyala Peri at around 23,891 feet, and Namche Barwa at more than 26,000 feet, is what makes it to the Guinness Book of Records claim of being the world’s deepest point. And if you draw a line between the summits of these two peaks on the eastern edge of the Himalaya, the distance is 11 miles. Then if you drop a line down from the other line into the heart of the gorge, it is 5,500 feet which gives one a vertical rise in a relatively short distance of 11 miles between the two summits that are over 19,000 feet. That is why it is considered the world’s deepest gorge or the deepest point, although it is not a canyon like the Grand Canyon. It is the overall sense of the vast scale which is very hard to capture in a photograph. This makes it an extraordinary place.”
This is obviously attractive for the dam-building lobbies.
Baker explained further: “Shambala was represented as the mandala, a paradisical centre, with different ways leading into it from the peripheries. This was the way in which hidden lands and Shambala were both represented, a kind of template for an initiation into Buddhism. As one enters the mandala, it is a transforming as well as a transformed space and condition. In Pemako, people describe the body of a particular tantric Buddhist goddess called Vajravarahi in Sanskrit.”
What will happen to the Paradise on earth after the tunnel digging machines arrive?
The discovery of the ancient mystics and yogis has probably no place in Xi Jinping’s New China scheme, but for Baker “you can really get a sense of the extraordinary depth of the inner gorge with Namche Barwa behind it, going into an area which has a very convoluted landscape.”
He observed: “The area which is on trickier terrain is called the river Yarlung or the innermost secret river. There were small monasteries established here, mostly by the people who came from Bhutan following the prophecies. Crystal glaciers, the sky and rainfall were nectar from the guardians of this land. Rainbows filled the sky, and the peaks touched the sky. It was believed that this hidden land of Padmasambhava is from where fortune and gain would finally come.”
This will disappear.

Password for Happiness?
In 2018, a report from China Tibet Online explained that Metok was presevered by creating a beautiful calling card of “ecology, livability, health, charm, and happiness.”
Is it compatible with a plant thrice the size of the Three Gorges Dam.

The Chinese Panchen Lama

Incidentally, the Chinese Panchen Lama visited Metok County at the end of August this year.
He was probably explained the Grand Water Scheme.

Landslide in Tibet: Both India and China have reasons to worry about

My article Landslide in Tibet: Both India and China have reasons to worry about appeared in Mail Today and DailyO

Here is the link...
 
Construction of the proposed railway between Sichuan and Tibet could lead to similar disasters. Arunachal Pradesh and Assam would have to bear the brunt.

Some recent happenings on the Tibetan plateau have serious implications for India; in particular the devastating landslide on the Yarlung Tsangpo, a river which becomes the Siang in Arunachal Pradesh and the Brahmaputra in Assam.

    A barrier lake has formed after a landslide hit the Yarlung Tsangpo River in SW China's Tibet on Wednesday morning. The safe evacuation of local residents is being carried out pic.twitter.com/5rtFXoANMG
    — China Xinhua News (@XHNews) October 17, 2018

Landslide in Tibet
On October 11, Xinhua reported that a ‘barrier lake’ had formed on a section of another river, the Upper Yangtze (Jinsha River in Chinese); the mishap was due a landslide which had taken place in Jomda county of Chamdo prefecture in the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Though no casualties were reported, the amount of water in the new lake reached about 100 million cubic metres in a short time.
The Chinese media affirmed: “the scale of the landslide is vast, clogging the main waterway of the Jinsha River, with several bridges, fields and villages affected."
Was it a coincidence — but the same day, President Xi Jinping chaired an ‘important’ meeting called to improve disaster prevention, which could be triggered by the mega Sichuan-Tibet railway project, planned to cross the same ecologicallyfragile area? If the project is realised, it could undoubtedly result in unthinkable environmental damages.
During the meeting, Xi “called for efforts to improve the country’s ability to safeguard against natural disasters, and fully launch the planning and construction of the Sichuan-Tibet railway".
The Party’s general secretary promised “to protect people’s lives and property and national security.”
Six days later, Xinhua reported the formation of a new lake on the Yarlung Tsangpo, not far from the Great Bend of the river, north of Arunachal Pradesh.
“A barrier lake has formed after a landslide struck a section of the Brahmaputra Valley near Pe Village of Mainling County,” said The Telegraph.
China’s water resources ministry immediately informed Delhi of the seriousness of the situation; emergency bells rang downstream, particularly in the Upper Siang district.
All this raises serious issues for India …and for China.

    The evacuation of more than 10,000 people in SW China's Tibet Autonomous Region is underway following a landslide that blocked a major river in the region, local authorities said on Thursday. pic.twitter.com/fGxHK54WTb
    — People's Daily,China (@PDChina) October 18, 2018

During the meeting chaired by the Chinese president to discuss the SichuanTibet railway, Xi spoke of “profound significance for the country's long-term stability and the development of Tibet.”
Three members of the all-powerful Politburo’s Standing Committee were in attendance: Premier Li Keqiang, Wang Huning and Vice-Premier Han Zheng.
Xinhua commented that China was one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. “…But its overall capability to respond to such extreme conditions is still relatively weak, and more should be done.”
It had earlier been rumoured that there was a rift between the Chinese President and his Premier, who in July, had visited Tibet in rather strange circumstances, probably to inspect a section of the projected mega railway line. While Xi seems in favour of going full steam on mega projects, his Premier believes in a more human (and less energy consuming) approach.

    Siang river is a very big river & when there are some natural calamities like earthquakes or landslides, it possess danger to people who live downstream: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Brahmaputra river blockage caused due to a landslide in Tibet pic.twitter.com/7d79CvORPv
    — ANI (@ANI) October 20, 2018

Cost of mega projects
An article in The Wall Street Journal indicates that a serious debate is raging in the Middle Kingdom and Beijing was trying “to kick its habit of using big-ticket infrastructure spending to fuel the economy, a turning point from a growth model...”.
One of the problems is of course the environmental consequences, especially in ecologically-fragile areas, but the other issue is: who will pay the cost of these pharaonic schemes?
Further, an improvement in the protection of the environment will come at a price; the cost of certain projects like the railway between Sichuan and Tibet may increase many folds.
One of the questions never mentioned in the Chinese press is: can Beijing today afford these mega projects?
What would be the usefulness of a railway line between Sichuan and Lhasa, when excellent highways exist?
The meeting chaired by the Chinese President just said that “it will promote ethnic solidarity, safeguard national unity and consolidate the stability of the frontier, as well as bolster Tibet's economic and social development.” There is no doubt that in the mind of Xi Jinping, the chairman of the Central Military Commission, the ‘consolidation of the frontiers’, (i.e. the Indian border), is crucial.

Ecological approach
A few months ago, The China Daily provided some details of the project: “A preliminary study on the Kangding-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway shows the section will include at least 10 rail tunnels each longer than 10 kilometres.”
The China Daily commented: “Since the new line will have to go through intricate and difficult geological conditions, and its construction will have to overcome frozen earth, landslides and rock slides, experts have dubbed the Sichuan-Tibet Railway China’s most challenging rail project.”
The recent landslides are an example of what could (will) happen to the railway line; the construction in such difficult terrain is bound to create havoc for the Tibetan plateau’s environment.
A more ‘ecological’ approach is bound to drastically increase the cost of the project; it is where Li may not fully agree with the Emperor.
As for India downstream, though the waters have started receding, the happenings on the Yarlung Tsangpo are truly worrisome.
Several years ago, a map of the prospective largest hydropower plant in the world, more than twice the capacity of the Three Gorges Dam, had circulated.
The departure point was where the landslide has just taken place last week, while the hydropower station was located in Metok, a few kilometres north of Arunachal.
Is this project still on the cards? It would certainly spell disasters in the making for India. Let us hope that wisdom will prevail.

Muddy Waters and Information Warfare

Rescuers checking a blocked road in Mainling County not far from the Indian border

An excellent article ('Muddy Siang is sign of danger ahead, wake up call for Indian authorities') on the recent developments on the Yarlung Tsangpo/Siang/ Brahmaputra has been published by the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP).
It is worth reading.
Two important questions have been raised.
Why China kept quiet if it was ‘only’ a earthquake and why India remained ‘unaware’ when it was not too difficult to ‘know’ the facts with remote satellite imagery.
SANDRP has answered the second question (or at least has questioned the role of the Indian officials).

But why has China kept silent?
According to the report quoted by SANDRP, a huge amount of debris has accumulated and blocked three locations, forming natural dams on the river across a 12-kilometre stretch in Tibet. It was cause by a 6.4 (or 6.9) earthquake in the Great Bend region. It darkened the waters of the Yarlung Tsangpo.
In November, Xinhua quoted the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) to report that no casualty had occurred “after a 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit Nyingchi, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region at 6:34 a.m. on November 18.”

The agency added that the quake caused "power failures and building damages in a number of villages in [around] the epicenter in Nyingchi City. "
The epicenter was located at 29.75 degrees north latitude and 95.02 degrees east longitude; it struck at a depth of about 10 km and several minor aftershocks were felt.
Xinhua quoted Pasang Tsering, Communist Party chief in Tashigang Village of Lunang Township, saying that he could not stand still in his house when the quake struck: “Six houses in his village had damages from the jolt.”
Incidentally, Lunang (or Lulang) is the newest town in Tibet: “It was built with a total investment of more than 3 billion yuan (436 million U.S. dollars). Here tourists can enjoy splendid natural scenery, various traditions and high-level infrastructure,” wrote Xinhua.

Lunang (or Lulang) new town

According to the Chinese press agency: “Lunang, meaning ‘Dragon King Valley’ in Tibetan, sits near the Sichuan-Tibet Highway. The small town is 3,300 meters above the sea level and is surrounded by Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, Mount Namjabarwa [Mt Namcha Barwa near the Great Bend] and many other scenic spots. It is known as the most beautiful town in Nyingchi.”
The state of the 'new' Town is unknown.

China finally speaks
Yesterday, Hua Chunying, the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, known for her sharp tongue during the Doklam incident, said that China “will maintain communication with India over the transboundary rivers in the wake of lakes and dams being formed on the Yarlung Tsangpo due to earthquakes in Tibet”.
Ms Hua stated: “According to verification by the relevant authorities, I can tell you that this lake is to the east section of the China-India boundary. It is caused by natural factors, it is not man-made."
She added: “I noticed that Indian professional authorities have made an analysis and clarification on this. We hope the Indian media will not make a groundless speculation on this and the Chinese side will, through the existing channels, maintain communication with the Indian side on the cross-border rivers.”
As mentioned earlier on this blog, following the Doklam incident in June, China did not respect its agreements with India to share the data of the Yarlung Tsangpo and the Sutlej.

More details are out
The China Seismological Bureau is said to have launch "a third-degree emergency response mechanism, holding a teleconference to monitor an investigation into the situation and sending experts to the quake-hit region."
Why was India not informed?
The Bureau noted that the highest seismic intensity of the quake affected an area of 500 square meters, which is sparsely populated.
According to the Bureau's findings, the tremors triggered falling rocks, blocking a highway linking Nyingchi's city proper with Tangmai, one of the quake-hit townships. Armed police were called to clear the road.

The Fire Department of the Ministry of Public Security stated that fire fighters from Nyingchi city were working in Tangmai Township: "Another team of rescuers will take helicopter to Gyalha village in the epicenter, after road to the village was blocked by rocks." The Ministry of Transport has also dispatched staff to investigate the safety condition of bridges in the quake-hit area.
The report added: "The Tibet subsidiaries of Chinese telecom providers China Mobile and China Tower said that their networks are operating normally. But the Tibet branch of China Telecom reported the disruption of an optical cable for broadband service in Pome and Zayul counties."
Why nothing was said on the three new lakes affecting the Siang/Brahmaputra?

Bayi, PLA's HQ

A  second earthquake
The Chinese media later reported that a second earthquake took place on December 20, 2017. Pictures showing Bayi town of Nyingchi City appeared in the Chinese press.
Incidentally, Bayi (8-1 or August 1) is the HQ of the PLA in Southern Tibet; August 1 being the date-anniversary of the foundation of the PLA in 1929.
A caption said: “No casualties were reported as of 11 a.m., following two earthquakes in Tibet early Wednesday morning [December 20]. A magnitude 5 earthquake jolted Bayi District of Nyingchi City at 1:40 a.m., according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. At 4:08 a.m., a magnitude 3.2 earthquake hit the same region.”

The Three Warfares
China has kept quiet because post Doklam, Beijing started an information war with India.
This began by an article planted in The South China Morning Post.
On October 29, Jack Ma’s newspaper reported that “Chinese engineers are testing techniques that could be used to build a 1,000km tunnel – the world’s longest – to carry water from Tibet to Xinjiang. …The proposed tunnel, which would drop down from the world’s highest plateau in multiple sections connected by waterfalls, would ‘turn Xinjiang into California’, one geotechnical engineer said.”
The idea was to create hysteria in India, which is not difficult.
Three weeks later, the earthquake triggered a tsunami of alarmist ‘expert’ views in the Indian press.
China decided to remain silent. Ms Hua can now say “We hope the Indian media will not make a groundless speculation on this.” But who triggered the ‘groundless speculations’?
By the end of November, Beijing could have mentioned the earthquake as the source of the black colour of the Siang, but the Chinese leadership preferred to let the Indian media ...and politicians speculate.
Indian needs to be prepared for more Information Warfare.

Bayi ('August 1') town

 

The earthquake was epicentered east of the Namcha Barwa

A new dam on the Brahmaputra

First picture of the construction of the Gyatsa hydropower plant

The construction of a second large dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo (which becomes the Siang and later the Brahmaputra in India) is well under way.
The dam is coming up at Gyatsa (Chinese Gyaca), a few kilometers downstream from the first dam at Zangmu.
In November 2014, the Indian Press mentioned the launching of the first unit of the run-of-river hydropower plant at Zangmu.
Xinhua then affirmed: “Tibet’s largest hydropower station became partly operational, harnessing the rich water resources of the Yarlung Zangbo (Tsangpo) River to develop the electricity-strapped region.”
The Zangmu hydropower plant, located at 3,300 meters above sea level, has a height of 116 metres for a length of 390 meter; it is 19 meter wide at the top and 76 meter wide at the bottom. The project is said to cost US $ 1.5 billion.
In 2014, Xinhua asserted that the entire project, which “straddles the middle reaches of the roaring Yarlung Tsangpo River, will have a total installed capacity of 510 megawatts upon completion”.
Liu Xiaoming, an official of the State Grid’s Tibet Electric Power Co said: “The hydropower station will solve Tibet’s power shortage, especially in the winter,” while Lobsang Gyaltsen, the head of the Tibetan Government in Lhasa affirmed: “The region has strived to protect the environment throughout construction. The hydro-plant is a good example of clean energy development.”
I then wrote: "Zangmu, the only hydro-power plant on the Yarlung Tsangpo, once completed, would probably be acceptable to India, but China plans to have a cascade of five other dams along the river at Jia Cha [Gyatsa], Lengda, Zhongda, Jie Xu and Lang Chen."

The Gyatsa Dam
The second large dam on the Yarlung Tsnagpo, has progressed very fast according the picture posted above.
According to Tibet Online: "The construction of hydropower energy is closely related to the overall development and will benefit the masses to a great extent. Tibet is rich in hydropower resources and has enormous development potential."
The Beijing-run website adds: "The construction of hydropower projects cannot only solve Tibet’s electricity problem, but also let the Qinghai-Tibet power network play a much great role as well as spare space for the local industrial development."
The website gives another piece of information: "In accordance with the water resources development plan of Sanjiangyuan region, by the end of the 13th Five Year Plan, the energy continuous base of 'West-East power transmission project' will be basically built in Tibet."
The Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve (SNNR) or Three Rivers Nature Reserve, is the area on the Tibetan Plateau where the Yellow River, the Yangtze River, and the Mekong Rivern have their sources. The SNNR has been established to 'protect' the headwaters of these three rivers. The reserve consists of 18 subareas, each containing three zones which are managed with differing degrees of strictness.
Does it mean, 'no more dams after 2020'?
It is very doubtful as in any case, the SNNR and the Yarlung Tsangpo basin are not located in the same area of the plateau.
However the power grid will probably be completed.
In all probability, the Gyatsa dam is of run-of-river dam with more or less the power-generating same capacity than the Zangmu dam.

To save CPEC, China must act on terrorism

My article To save CPEC, China must act on terrorism appeared in the Edit Page of The Pioneer.


Here is the link...

For the time being, China has stood by Islamabad. But for how long can it do so? Can Beijing support terrorist activities of non-state actors in Pakistan? It cannot afford it. The price would be too high
China teaches its defence forces that, apart from conventional fighting, there are three warfares — psychological, legal and public opinion warfares, which needs to be judiciously used. Beijing has recently extensively used ‘public opinion’ to scare India.
For example, the Indian Press reported: “China has blocked the flow of an important tributary of Brahmaputra river to construct its most expensive dam in Tibet at a location very close to Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.”
Though the announcement was linked to India’s decision to review the use of water under the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, the proposed dam is far away from Arunachal Pradesh. An Indian agency admitted: “Xinhua article might be intended to only give India a scare…as diversion of Brahmaputra waters remains an emotive, volatile issue in India’s North-East.”
The fact that the Lalho project is located near Shigatse, several hundred kilometers from the border in Arunachal Pradesh and that the power station will have a relatively low generation capacity of 42 megawatts only, was ignored. On the environmental website, The Third Pole, a vigilant journalist rectified the Chinese ‘scare propaganda’; Joydeep Gupta wrote: “The unease in India is due to the fear that the project will reduce the flow of water in the Brahmaputra. …The far bigger problem with the Lalho project is that it will more or less dry up a long stretch of the Shiabu chu (river) in an area that is already suffering from rapid desertification.”
In other words, Tibet/China will suffer first. Another propaganda coup which worked was the appearance of China’s first stealth fighter, the J-20, in Daocheng Yading Airport in Gartse Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture; at 4,411 m above sea level, it is the world’s highest civilian airport.
The Indian Press reported, “China’s top secret stealth fighter spotted in Tibet days after it warned India”. The airport is not in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, as stated by the Indian media, but in Sichuan Province.
The image of the stealth fighter, which appeared on Twitter and some Chinese defence websites a few days after India deployed the supersonic BrahMos missiles in the Himalaya, was a warning for India, though the image of the J-20 which shows the fighter covered with a tarpaulin, is not a proof that the plane can operate at such altitude. In any case, it can’t carry armament on the plateau. That was not the purpose, China just wanted to warn the Indian ‘public opinion’. It worked.
Apart from this, the Chinese reactions to Uri attack and India’s surgical strikes inside Pakistan have been rather cautious, though according to The Dawn: “China has assured Pakistan of its support in the event of any foreign aggression and also supported Pakistan’s stance on the Kashmir dispute.”
The message was apparently conveyed during a meeting between with Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a senior Chinese diplomat. The Chinese Consul General of China in Lahore Yu Boren stated: “In case of any foreign aggression our country will extend its full support to Pakistan. We are and will be siding with Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. There is no justification for atrocities on unarmed Kashmiris in India-held-Kashmir and the Kashmir dispute should be solved in accordance with aspirations of the Kashmiris.”
It is ironic that a nation which has never accepted a democratic process, can speak of the aspirations of the people. After the surgical strikes, Beijing has remained rather mum.
Let us remember for a moment the mega China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a crucial element of the One Belt, One Road (OBOR), the Chinese dream which could be a game-changer … if it happens.
The architects of CPEC plan to build a 2,700-kilometre corridor stretching from Kashgar to Gwadar, which will link Central Asia (via Xinjiang) to Europe and Africa (via the maritime route). Unfortunately, for China, the corridor crosses Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, a plaque tournante for controlling Central Asia and Middle East. Observers marvelled at Beijing kindness (and wealth), though Chinese generosity may first and foremost benefit Beijing!
Now, suppose the project becomes ‘unstable’ due to terrorism (presently localised in Pakistan, but which can be easily exported to Xinjiang)? Add to this India’s military options, such as the recent Indian strikes, and the cost of the project will tremendously shoot up.  This does not amuse Beijing.
On August 28, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asserted that the CPEC is a ‘game-changer’ for Pakistan; it would help bring prosperity to the entire region.
According to Pakistan Today, Sharif affirmed: “The CPEC is not merely a strategic decision but the culmination of 10 years of brotherhood and cooperation between China and Pakistan” before concluding: “Our relations with China are of the utmost importance.”
For the time being, China bravely stands by Islamabad, but for how long? Beijing recently extended its veto on India’s move to blacklist Masood Azhar at the UN. The Chinese Government announced that “Its technical hold on India’s move to get Pakistan-based  Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar designated a terrorist by the UN has been extended.”
But can Beijing support terrorist activities of non-state actors in Pakistan? The answer is ‘no’, Beijing can’t afford it. The price would be high. Xinhua may repeat the argument of the Pakistan Army that India’s strikes were mirages; it may quote the Pakistani Army’s spokesman: “The notion of surgical strikes linked to alleged terrorists’ bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by India to create false effects”; the fact remains that the Chinese are no fools; they are aware of the situation in Pakistan and the danger for their workers involved in CPEC and the possibility of terror spreading in Xinjiang. An important element has, however, been missed by the Indian Press. On September 27, Indian and China held their first dialogue on counter-terrorism and security.
Xinhua said: “The two sides exchanged opinions on the international and regional security situation and their respective anti-terrorism systems, mechanisms and legislation. They also reached consensus on measures to strengthen cooperation and to jointly deal with security threats, according to a document issued after the meeting.”
The dialogue was jointly chaired by Wang Yongqing, secretary-general of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs and RN  Ravi, chairman of Joint Intelligence Committee. Ravi also held talks with Meng Jianzhu, a key member of the Politburo and ‘security star’ who stepped into the shoes of the disgraced Zhou Yongkang, China’s most powerful man before his fall.
According to Xinhua, Meng told Ravi, “Terrorism is a common enemy of the global community”, adding that “strengthened counter-terrorism cooperation between China and India was conducive to the interests of the people of both countries”. Let’s hope that China understands it may lose its stakes in the CPEC, should it decide to continue playing the card of its all-weather friend. Meanwhile, ‘public opinion’ warfare will continue.

China: more and more dams in Tibet

A few weeks ago, I questioned the real objective of the newly launched Sichuan-Tibet electricity grid.
Was the purpose to bring electricity from the mainland to Tibet or vice-versa?
At that time, the Chinese press said that the purpose was the former.
Now China Tibet Online speaks of a "Breakthrough in outward power transmission from Tibet".
What does it mean?
It signifies more and more dams will be required in the future ...to feed the outward power transmission and some of these dams will be built on the Yarlung Tsangpo-Brahmaputra.
Chinanews.com announced: "Tibet Autonomous Region is expected to see a breakthrough in outward electric power transmission this summer."
It quotes the Tibet Electric Power Company Limited, to say: "when the three power stations in Dzam [Zangmu?], Dondup [Pangduo?] and Guoduo [located on the upper reaches of the Mekong River in Tserwe Township] are put into operation，Tibet will begin transmitting electricity to other provinces for the first time. This will be achieved with the help of Sichuan-Tibet Power Grid and Qinghai-Tibet DC Networking Project."
It is not what China was saying a few weeks ago:

Xinhua reported that the opening of the 1.08 billion U.S. dollar project linking Chamdo in the TAR and the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Garze in Sichuan Province, aims at "putting an end to the electricity shortages of the 500,000 residents of the Chamdo region and ease power strain in Tibet as a whole".

Now, the Chinese website admits: "The two lines will increase Tibet’s outward power transmission capacities to 350,000 and 20,000 kilowatts, or 1 billion and 600 million kilowatt hours a year respectively."
Beijing has invested a lot of money in the project: the Sichuan-Tibet Power Grid and Qinghai-Tibet DC Networking Project cost 4.6 billion US dollars. It was part of the 12th Five-year Plan Period (2011-2015).
China Tibet Online affirms: "Together with the Central Tibet Power Grid and Chamdo Power Grid, the two lines will certainly ease local power shortages and boost economic development in eastern Tibet. It is believed that the power grids in Tibet will cover 58 counties and benefit 2.18 million local residents by the end of the year."
Now comes the most telling part:

The foundation work for outward power transmission will be advanced steadily in 2015 by accelerating hydroelectric development in the middle section of the Yarlung Zangbo River [Brahmaputra], said Losang Jamcan [Lobsang Gyatsen], chairman of Tibet's regional government during the Third Session of the Tenth Tibet People's Congress.
Investment in power grid construction in Tibet is predicted to hit a record 60 billion yuan (9.7 billion US dollars) in the 13th Five-year Plan Period. By 2020 Tibet can bid farewell to the history of its power shortage and realize large-scale outward power transmission. The capacities in 2020, 2025 and 2035 will reach 20 million, 40 million and 110 million kilowatts respectively, industry analysts said.

In 2015, China will be "accelerating hydroelectric development in the middle section of the Yarlung Zangbo River."
The conclusion of the website was "Tibet is abundant in water power resources and will serve as an important energy base for the west-east electricity transmission project."
In other words, more and more dams will be built in Tibet ...to feed electricity to China. It will have serious consequences for India and Bangladesh.

Strategic changes on the Tibetan plateau

One of the bridges on the Metok highway

One of the most strategic developments of the year 2013 has been the opening of the Metok Highway to the civilian and military traffic. The road is located north of the McMahon Line.
During the last 2 years, I have often mentioned the importance of this highway linking Metok to the rest of Tibet.
Yesterday, China Tibet Online published a photo feature of the famous road in winter (photos are taken on December 18).
The article says: "Bome [Bomi] county in Tibet formally opened to traffic on October 31, 2013, ending the county's isolation from the outside world. The 117-km highway, which cost 155 million U.S. dollars, links Zhamog [Chamok?] Township, the county seat of Bome, and Metok in Nyingchi Prefecture in southeastern Tibet. With the opening of the road, people in Metok have higher expectations for their future."
One could add, the People's Liberation Army too.

Truck on the way to Metok

At Km 52 in the early morning

At Km 24

Following the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra)

At the foot of the pass

Commemorating the strategic opening

Another development concerning Tibet
Another serious development, as far as Tibet is concerned, is the successful test flight of an 'home-made' Z-20 utility helicopter. The South China Morning Post reported: "Analysts believe it has an edge over American counterpart in high-altitude regions".
In China, 'high-altitude regions' refers to Tibet.
The announcement of the test flight of the PLA's helicopter 'filled up a blank' in the military arsenal of China, believe the experts.

Maiden flight of the Z-20?

A photo of the aircraft was published on the domestic military forum cjdby.net.
It prompted "a flurry of speculation from tech-savvy military enthusiasts about its potential performance and efficiency."
The South China Morning Post added: "Dubbed by amateurs as 'Z-20', a codename that is in line with the naming pattern of previous military helicopter models, the aircraft’s exterior is similar to the US-made Sikorsky UH-60, better known as the Black Hawk”.
During a CCTV programme, Du Wenlong, a military analyst commented that the new helicopter has "a capacity of 10 tonnes, putting it between the categories of agile attack helicopters and heavy transportation helicopters".
Chinese media reports further explained that "its flexibility allows it to be modified to cope with a wide range of tasks such as assault, transportation, electronic warfare and special operations. It can even boost the country's naval power, potentially being able make landings on PLA ships such as the aircraft carrier Liaoning".
Regarding Tibet, the interesting feature is the five-blade propeller: "Unlike Black Hawk’s four, [it] gives more superior performance in high-altitude regions, such as southwestern China’s vast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is home to a restive Tibetan population and is flanked by India, with which it has long-standing border tensions", says the Hong Kong publication.
When fully operational, it can certainly used in places like Nagchu or elsewhere on the Tibetan plateau as a new tool of repression.

Crossing Rivers and Mountains

Crossing the Brahmapoutra

China Military Online reported yesterday that: "A wartime river-crossing support drill organized by an engineer regiment under the Tibet Military Command (MC) of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) was conducted on August 8, 2013 in the waters of the Yarlung Tsangpo River."
Let not forget that the Yarlung Tsangpo becomes the Siang river when it enters in India and later the Brahmaputra.
The Chinese website adds: "During the drill, the officers and men of the regiment conducted the drill on pontoon bridge erection with new-type heavy pontoon bridge equipment. It is learnt that the new-type heavy pontoon bridge equipment adopts modular configuration and its structure can change at any time. For example, equipped with a powered rear-boat, a raft of pontoon can be used for ferrying and connected rafts of pontoon can become a floating bridge. With a great load capacity, the new-type box-type raft of pontoon can ferry heavy weaponry and equipment across great rivers."

It is the first time to my knowledge that the PLA has used such sophisticated means to built a pontoon on the Tibetan plateau.
The Military website explains: "Besides, the new-type heavy pontoon bridge uses electronic control means, thus its degree of mechanization and automation improved significantly. It can effectively solve problems arising from accurate positioning and docking by means of satellite navigation and positioning and fast connection of nano-anchor steel."
There is no doubt that it is a serious development.
Some pictures where posted on Xinhua website.

 

 

Crossing the Yangtze in October 1950

But that is not all.
The Tibetan Autonomous Region is on the way to develop the largest ever mountain road network which could be qualified of 'multipurpose'.
One the uses is what The Disneyland of Snows mentioned elsewhere.
In order to bring millions of tourists, good roads are a must.
As mentioned in my posting on Yu Zhengsheng's visit to Lhasa, the development of region is another must.
And from the PLA point of view, this infrastructure has an important military purpose.
China Tibet Online says: "The recent years witness a breakthrough in the transportation of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. With roads at various levels having extended in all directions, local Tibetans needn't worry about transportation any more."

The Chinese website elaborates: "Due to the high altitude of the plateau, roads in Tibet are called 'the sky road' by Tibetans affectionately to express their appreciation for improving their traveling conditions under such terrible constructing circumstance on the world roof."
According to Chinese statistics, the total length of roads built in Tibet had reached 65,200 kilometers; it includes roads at the national level, provincial level, county-level, as well as roads connecting different townships and villages.
All the seven prefectures in Tibet are linked by a good road network,
Some 60 counties out of 74, 400 townships out of 693, and 4,280 villages out of 5,454 have a road connection.
China Tibet Online affirms that the transportation infrastructure investment in Tibet has been over 9.7 billions yuan (about 1.58 billion US dollars): "And the amount of newly built and rebuilt roads in the past decade [only] exceeds the sum total of that in the previous 50 years since the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet (i.e. the occupation).

 

 

Another Chinese article announces that according to the latest statistics of the Development and Reform Commission (Planning Commission) of Nyingtri (Nyingchi) Prefecture bordering Arunachal Pradesh, the area has witnessed a great deal of development and key projects are progressing well.
Is it not worrying for India which progresses at snail pace in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Chinese article states: "154 projects have been in full resumption and 17 have already completed. There are 95 new projects including 64 which have started and 7 which have completed. From January to June of 2013, altogether 2.128 billion yuan (about 347.7 million U.S. dollars) are invested in the key projects of Nyingchi Prefecture with year-on-year growth of 115 percent. Among the investment, 1.305 billion yuan (about 213.2 million U.S. dollars) are allocated to the continued projects, and 823 million yuan (about 134.5 million U.S. dollars) are attributed to the new projects."

The nature of these projects is however not mentioned.
Is it only road construction, new dams or improvement of the Nyingchi airport?
Let us not forget that the military township of Bayi also comes under the same prefecture.
The article however says: "In the document of The 12th Five-Year Plan of Supporting Tibet's Economic and Social Development Construction Project Planning released by the State Council of China, 129 projects in Nyingchi Prefecture are involved and 38.93 billion yuan (about 6.4 billion U.S. dollars) will be totally invested during 2011 and 2015, including 26.15 billion yuan (about 4.3 billion U.S, dollars) of planning investment."
Some 1.3 billion U.S. dollars has already been spent, in other words 30 percent of the total planned investment.
One understands why Weng Mengyong, the Chinese Vice Minister of Transport and Du Ying, the Vice Minister of the National Development and Reform Commission accompanied Yu Zhengsheng during his recent inspection tour in Tibet.

The Defence White Paper on Tibet

PLA and PAPF in Eastern Tibet

The Information Office of the State Council has just published a white paper on China's armed forces entitled The Diversified Employment of China's Armed Forces.
It is the 8th Defence White Paper (WP) published during the past 15 years, by the State Council.
The new document states that the country faces ‘multiple and complicated’ security threats, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.
But the Ministry of National Defence pledges to build a strong military "commensurate with China's international standing, and to meet the needs of its security and development interests".
It criticizes America's pivot in the Asia-Pacific region: "Some countries are strengthening their Asia-Pacific military alliances and expanding their military presence in the region, frequently making the situation there more tense.”
It notes that by adjusting its Asia-Pacific security strategy, the United States bring about ‘profound changes’ in the regional landscape.
The WP accuses Japan of being a trouble maker over the Diaoyu Islands located in the East China Sea: “On the issues concerning China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, some neighbouring countries are taking actions that complicate or exacerbate the situation, and Japan is making trouble over the Diaoyu Islands issue."
At a press conference on the occasion of the WP’s release, Senior Colonel Wu Xihua, deputy director of the PLA general staff's crisis management office affirmed that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) would retaliate if China's core interests were infringed: “We oppose wars and never hope to engage in them. But if someone imposes a war upon us, we should be determined to fight and win."
Though there is no special chapter on Tibet, the ‘T’ word is mentioned a few times, mainly in a section entitled: “Supporting key infrastructure projects”. It has implications for India as these ‘key projects’ are roads or dams located in border areas.
The WP admits that the Armed Forces (the PLA and the paramilitary People’s Armed Police Force or PAPF) are regularly involved in the construction of strategic roads and hydropower plants.
The WP says: “China's armed forces bring into full play the advantages of hydroelectric, transportation, engineering and cartographic units, and support national and local infrastructure construction related to national economy and people's livelihood in such areas as transportation, water conservancy, energy and communications. Since 2011, the PLA and PAPF have contributed more than 15 million work days and over 1.2 million motor vehicles and machines, and have been involved in more than 350 major province-level (and above) projects of building airports, highways, railways and water conservancy facilities. The PAPF hydroelectric units have partaken in the construction of 115 projects concerning water conservancy, hydropower, railways and gas pipelines in Nuozhadu (Yunnan), Jinping (Sichuan) and Pangduo (Tibet)."
The Nuozhadu project is a dam under construction on the Mekong River (known as Lancang in Chinese) in Yunnan Province. The dam will have a height of 261 m and a reservoir with a normal capacity of 21,749,000,000 m3. The objectives of the dam are to produce hydroelectric power as well to control floods. The project will have nine generators, each with a capacity of 650 MW (totally generating 5,850 MW). The project should be functional in 2015.
The Jinping-I Hydropower Station is also a large hydroelectric project on the ‘Jinping Bend’ of the Yalong River in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province. The construction began in 2005 and when complete, it will have a 3,600 MW capacity. This arch dam will be 305 m tall, it will be the tallest in the world. The project's objective is to supply energy for expanding industrialization and urbanization, improve flood protection, and prevent erosion. The reservoir began filling on 30 November 2012, but full electrical power capability is not expected before 2015.
The third project where the Chinese defence forces are namely involved is the Pangduo hydropower plant near Lhasa. According to Xinhua, the Pangduo project is “the largest water control project is now under construction in Tibet Autonomous Region. The first phase of construction has almost been completed, setting a world record of the deepest cutoff wall for as deep as 158 meters, according to the project management office.”
Kong Xiangsheng, chief engineer of the project management office told the Chinese news agency: “This wall is 22 meters deeper than the previously constructed one as Japan's Rainbow Bridge …The seepage-proof wall for Pangduo Project is considered as the largest, deepest and most difficult underground cutoff wall under construction in China."
The construction site is located at 4,100 meters above the sea level.
In terms of investment, the Pangduo Hydro Project is the largest ever undertaken in Tibet. The construction of Pangduo Project was launched on July 15, 2009, and expected to be completed in 2016.
The WP continues: “In addition, PAPF transportation units have undertaken the construction of 172 projects, including highways in the Tianshan Mountains in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the double-deck viaduct bridge over the Luotang River in Gansu Province and the Galungla Tunnel along the Medog Highway in the Tibet Autonomous Region, with a total length of 3,250 km.”
Yesterday, I mentioned that the Metok (or Medog) tunnel which has serious strategic implications for India, as it is located just north of the McMahon Line.
In a section entitled: “Promoting ecological progress and protecting the environment”, the WP informs us: “The PLA, militia and reserve organic troops are organized to help afforest barren hills, control desertification and preserve wetlands. Specifically, they have supported the construction of key national reserves and ecological engineering projects such as controlling the sources of sandstorms affecting Beijing and Tianjin, afforesting the periphery of the Taklimakan Desert, protecting the ecological environment of the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtse and Yellow rivers, and harnessing the Yarlung Zangbo, Lhasa and Nyangqu rivers in Tibet.”
‘Harnessing’ seems to indicate ‘damming’ these rivers. While the dams on the Yarlung Tsangpo (or Zangbo or Brahmaputra) are well documented, the ones on the Nyang River (Nyangqu in Chinese) are less.
The Nyang is the longest tributary of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in south-west Tibet. It has a length of 307 km and originates at 5,000 meters above the sea level, west of the Mila Mountain. The river joins the Yarlung Tsangpo in Nyingchi prefecture. With a drop height of 2,273 meters, an average flow of 538 cubic meters per minute and a yearly flux of 22 billion cubic meters, the river boasts a hydropower capacity of 2.08 million kilowatts.
It is a sacred river for the people of Kongpo.
Its largest tributary is the Ba River. It flows past the town of Bayi where it is crossed by the Bayi Zanchen bridge.
The WP affirms: “Over the past two years, the PLA and PAPF have planted over 14 million trees, and afforested above three million mu of barren hills and beaches by large-scale planting and aerial seeding. Besides, technical units specializing in cartography, meteorology, and water supply provide such services as cartographic surveying, weather and hydrological forecasting, and water source exploration for local people."
Further, the WP affirms that the defence forces support “scientific and technological, educational, cultural and health undertakings”.
It quotes: “From 2011 to 2012, military academies, research institutions and specialized technical units undertook more than 200 research subjects including national major projects and key technology R&D programs; participated in 220 projects tackling key scientific and technological problems; and transferred 180 technologies. A total of 108 PLA and PAPF hospitals have paired up with 130 county-level hospitals in poverty-stricken areas in the western parts of the country, while medical and health units below the corps level have paired up with 1,283 clinics and health centers in towns and townships. From 2009 to 2012, the armed forces financed and built 57 "August 1" schools particularly in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities in the western parts of the country, such as Xinjiang and Tibet, providing schooling for over 30,000 children.”
There is no doubt the so-called ‘August 1’ (Bayi) school are mainly for the children of the troops posted in Tibet and Xinjiang.
‘August 1’ refers to the foundation of the People’s Liberation Army on August 1, 1927. The ‘Bayi’ franchise is exclusively reserved to the PLA.
The main Bayi town in Tibet is located in the Nyingchi prefecture, north of the Indian border of Arunachal Pradesh.
It clearly shows that the PLA and the PAPF are not doing philanthropic work on the borders: their objective is “to win local wars under the conditions of informationization and expanding and intensifying military preparedness.”
The WP clearly explains: “China's armed forces firmly base their military preparedness on winning local wars under the conditions of informationization, make overall and coordinated plans to promote military preparedness in all strategic directions, intensify the joint employment of different services and arms, and enhance warfighting capabilities based on information systems.”
For the purpose: “They constantly bring forward new ideas for the strategies and tactics of people's war, advance integrated civilian-military development, and enhance the quality of national defense mobilization and reserve force building.”
The dams and the roads are part of China’s ‘preparedness’ to win a war.
Though Tibet is not namely mentioned, the PAPF plays an role in the restive region. The WP says: "as stipulated by law, perform their duties of maintaining national security and stability, steadfastly subduing subversive and sabotage attempts by hostile forces, cracking down on violent and terrorist activities, and accomplishing security-provision and guarding tasks."
These different headings keep the forces busy in Tibet.

PAPF near Jokhang Cathedral in Lhasa

As the WP puts it: "The PAPF is the state's backbone and shock force in handling public emergencies and maintaining social stability. The Law of the People's Republic of China on the People's Armed Police Force, promulgated in August 2009, specifies the scope, measures and support of PAPF security missions. With mobile PAPF troops as the mainstay, supplemented by forces pooled from routine duty units, and supported by various police forces and PAPF academies, the PAPF has established a force structure for stability maintenance and emergency response. In addition, a counter-terrorism force structure has been set up, which consists of a counter-terrorism contingent, special-duty squadrons, special-duty platoons and emergency-response squads at state, province, municipality and county levels, respectively."
One understands that the PAPF's budget is larger than the PLA's!