Foreign media: The official report of the Tibetan Communist Army’s self-destructing device is puzzling

 Reporter : Han Mei / https://www.soundofhope.org/post/460454 / Direct translation

 The Tibet Military Region of the Communist Party of China has been equipped the Communist soldiers with a so-called "new type of individual digital combat system" as the Sino-Indian relations have entered a state of tension and the border military conflicts continue. The system has self-destructing devices that can endanger the lives of soldiers. After the domestic media reported it, it attracted foreign media attention and civil criticism.

CCTV reported at the end of last year that with the advancement of the "military reform", many units have distributed domestically-made individual digital combat systems, including the Tibet Military Region. NetEase followed up on the "Observer Network" article on December 29, 2020 and introduced the "Individual Digital Combat System".

The system is equipped with a satellite antenna on the soldier’s helmet, equipped with a monocular night vision multi-function eyepiece, and a digital terminal on the arm. In addition to providing bulletproof protection, the protective gear also integrates navigation, individual radio, photography, audio conversion and information processing. The battalion commander in the command center can directly command individual soldiers and provide guidance and other information.

According to the report, the system can guide the shelling with one click, and the Indian army will self-destruct if it is picked up. All individual soldier information is in the command center screen and controlled remotely.

The report specifically mentioned that this system is equipped with a self-destruction device. If a soldier is seriously injured and does not want to be captured, the self-destruction device can be activated. Not only can the dignity of the soldier be maintained, the enemy also cannot obtain any information about this system. If the commander finds on the screen that a single soldier has extended the distance with other troops and cannot get in touch, he will also activate the self-destruct device at a long distance.

This news quickly aroused criticism and doubts among the people about the authorities' "seeing human life as a stubborn waste."

Guangdong veteran Chen Fengqiang told Radio Free Asia that the motive behind this article is puzzling and may affect the military's morale: "It (Observer Network) is difficult to judge for what purpose. To be honest, who is not afraid of death? Without protection at critical moments, and even life cannot be guaranteed, who do you say is not afraid?"

Taiwanese military expert Li Zhengxiu said that foreign troops are also equipped with similar equipment, but only destroying information will not endanger the lives of soldiers: "Many countries, including the United States, basically have high-tech equipment for soldiers. Such a (self-destruct) function, once a soldier falls into the hands of the enemy, can activate such a function to destroy the confidential information stored in the equipment, but this does not include harming the lives of soldiers, so this report made people feel that it was shameful to surrender and that the remote officer had the right to sanction the soldiers."

Larry, the host of the YouTube military channel "Military Weapons Research", said that according to relevant international laws and conventions, soldiers are injured or captured or surrendered on the battlefield, and the enemy cannot torture them, so there is no problem of so-called damage to dignity. When military personnel are trained, they have relevant training to prevent leaks or rules to follow. It is even more unreasonable to say that they choose to "self-destruct" for fear of abuse and leaks.

Larry said that there are risks such as hackers invading the system, the combat command centre being captured by the enemy, or the commander in charge of the control system rebelling or being instigated. If the report is true, it can also reflect that the CCP is worried about the military discipline and combat effectiveness of frontline soldiers, and even worried about deserters or soldiers not following orders on the battlefield. Therefore, extreme measures must be used to strictly control them.

After arousing a strong response, the Observer Network has deleted the above-mentioned article. Li Zhengxiu believes that it is necessary for the state media to clarify whether the self-destructing device is dangerous to the lives of soldiers, "Many people who work in the army in mainland China are really due to family economic factors. Most of the people who work in the army are from rural or Chinese low-class families. Of course, they at least hope to be able to serve as soldiers safely. If such reports cause these people to deter, wouldn't it be counterproductive?"