The system, equipped by the Tibetan Military Region for military personnel, can direct artillery fire at the touch of a button and self-destruct if picked up by Indian forces, with all individual messages inside the command screen.
As the border conflict between China and India continues to erupt, the combat system equipped for PLA soldiers by the Tibetan military region has become the focus of discussion. According to mainland media reports, the combat system is equipped with a self-destruct device, which is remotely controlled by the commander to execute self-destruct instructions when necessary. The reports have caused a great deal of reaction from mainland netizens, who are concerned about the impact on the morale of front-line soldiers.
The controversial “single soldier digital combat system” combines the functions of navigators, audio converters and consultation processing in one, with satellite antennas on soldiers’ helmets and monocular night vision multifunctional goggles, and digital terminals on their arms. The battalion commander who sits in the command center can directly command a single soldier.
The mainland “Observer” reported last month that the system, equipped by the Tibetan military region for the military, can direct artillery fire with a single click, and will self-destruct if picked up by the Indians, all the information of the single soldier in the command screen.
The most remarkable thing is that, as mentioned in the report, if a soldier is seriously wounded but does not want to be captured, activating the self-destruct device will not only preserve the soldier’s dignity, but also prevent the enemy from obtaining any information about the system.
And if the commander finds on the screen that a single soldier has distanced himself from other troops and cannot get in touch, then he will also start self-destruction from a distance.
There has been much debate about the system, which has been presented as high-tech, with many criticizing the Chinese Communist Party for “treating human lives like grass” and “using them as cannon fodder.
Chen Fengqiang, a Guangdong veteran, said the motivation behind the article is puzzling and he fears the report will affect the military’s morale.
Chen Fengqiang: “It’s hard to tell what purpose it (Observer) has. Honestly, who in the world is not afraid of death? When you can’t get protection at a critical moment, when you can’t even secure your life, you say who is not afraid.”
Foreign military self-destruction devices do not harm soldiers
Taiwan military expert Li Zhengxiu believes that similar equipment foreign armies are equipped with, and it is necessary for mainland media to clarify whether self-destruct devices pose a risk to soldiers’ lives.
Li Zhengxiu: “Many countries, including the United States, they have such a (self-destruct) function for the high-tech equipment carried by soldiers, and once the soldiers fall into the hands of the enemy, they can activate such a function to destroy the classified information stored in this equipment, but this does not include the need to harm the soldiers, so this report makes people feel that surrender is shameful, and the distal officer has the right to sanction the soldier.”
The report was published in the Observer at the end of last month and has been reprinted in various media. At present, the description of the “self-destruct device” has been removed from the Observer, presumably due to the strong reaction from the outside world.
Li Zhengxiu: “It is impossible for a website to survive on the mainland, especially a highly sensitive political and military website, to exist without the tacit approval of the Chinese Communist Party, so from the way the Observer was quoted and then withdrawn, it is likely that they originally wanted to boast about the advanced level of equipment, but the reporter’s writing made people think that the PLA soldiers could not even surrender. But the reporter’s writing makes it seem that PLA soldiers can’t even surrender, whether by misunderstanding or deliberate misinformation. “
While some commentators questioned the report as part of the Communist Party’s “grand internal propaganda,” Li criticized the report as alarmist.
Li Zhengxiu: “Many people who join the military in mainland China do so because of their family’s economic circumstances. The vast majority of those who join the military come from rural or lower-middle class families, and at least they want to be able to serve in the military in peace and security. If such a report causes these people to be deterred, isn’t that counterproductive?”
The PLA Daily had reported in September 2012 that the Shenyang Military Region was equipped with this one-man digitized system, and at that time the military explanation had revealed that the system not only had a self-destruction device, but could also self-destruct remotely. In addition, CCTV News also reported in 2013 that the PLA Women’s Special Forces were equipped with this new one-man digitalized combat system.
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