PLA improves strategic projection capability

This is not a news item per se, but it does confirm a well-known fact that the extensive Chinese rail network buildup has a military dimension. While this PLA daily article acknowledges the prolonged military rail extension in Yunnan, it forgets to mention a similar extension in Fujian as result of the 1996 "large-scale-military-exercise." Although the railroad extension will not speed up heavy equipment "across the sea" and "onto the beach," it will eliminate traffic jams on-route to Fujian from other MR's.

PLA improves strategic projection capability

(Source: PLA Daily) 2010-02-04

　 　According to the Military Transportation Department of the PLA General Logistics Department (GLD), over 1,000 railway stations in China have been equipped with military transportation facilities, establishing a rather complete railway support network and enhancing greatly the strategic projection capability of the Chinese armed forces.

　　 The rapid development of China’s railway offered Chinese armed forces favourable opportunities to better its strategic projection capability. The GLD suggested to establish military facilities such as material loading and unloading facilities and military platforms, so as to keep pace with the national and local efforts to build new railways and rebuild the old ones.

　　Cooperated with the Ministry of Railway of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 2009, the GLD fulfilled over 100 military requirements for 20-odd railways in China and equipped these railways with the capability of military transportation.

　　 In 2009, some related railway administrations invested large sums of money to rebuild the military transportation facilities for a few railway stations and ensured the smooth loading and unloading of the military equipment used for such important activities as “Peace Mission 2009” exercise and “military parade on National Day”.

　　In a bid to assure the military requirements for railway station construction, the GLD engaged in and traced the whole process of the national railway construction, ranging from the programming to the completion of the railway construction.

　　When building the railway from Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, to Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the Ministry of Railway of the PRC revised partial route, prolonged 12.4 km of railways and increased 1.55 billion yuan, just for the purpose of meeting the maneuver requirement of the troops.

　　By Chen Zhou

Editor:Dong Zhaohui