PLA campaign highlights LAC actions ahead of CPC anniversary

Soldiers to present China’s flag ‘raised on Pangong Lake’ during nationwide tour

China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has begun a domestic campaign ahead of the ruling Communist Party’s July 1 centenary in which it is highlighting last year's actions of its border defence troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), specifically in Pangong Lake, as part of a broader push to underline the military’s firm support to President Xi Jinping. Under the campaign, two groups of 8 “youth role models”, a mix of military and students, are visiting colleges and universities across China. The group is being organised by the Central Military Commission’s Political Work Department and the Party’s Youth League. The group includes “elite and skilled” PLA soldiers, including some stationed in units along the LAC, along with “anti-epidemic pioneers, elite female coastguards and scientists dedicated to polar region research”, the military said. As part of the campaign, the soldiers are presenting China’s national flag “once raised on Pangong Lake”, a key site of tensions in 2020, at various military units and educational institutions as they tour the country.