Tracking the People's Liberation Army (PLA): 09th - 15th August, 2026

<p class="ql-align-justify"><em>Dear Reader,</em></p><p class="ql-align-justify"><em>The week ending 15 Aug 2026 was an interesting one. </em></p><p class="ql-align-justify"><em>First was the announcement of standard names of 27 locations in Arunachal Pradesh by India on 07 Aug 2026 and the Chinese response thereto. The announcement came immediately after the 36th Meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India‑China Border Affairs on 06 August 2026. Together with the choice of locations in the list, India has quietly and clearly conveyed its control over its territory as well as the will to defend it.</em></p><p class="ql-align-justify"><em>Taiwan concluded its annual exercise Han Kuang. This year’s exercise was the largest exercise in recent years and focused on urban resilience and realistic, unscripted exercises. </em></p><p class="ql-align-justify"><em>Internally, the PLA Daily called for stringent selection of Party cadre and called on auditors to not only look at corruption but also shirking or avoidance of risks. This suggests that the PLA is facing some challenges in the aftermath of the anti-corruption campaigns. </em></p><p class="ql-align-justify"><em>Two well thought out articles explore innovation in the armed forces and low cost warfare. Low Cost Warfare seems to be of importance with recurrent discussions on the same. </em></p><p class="ql-align-justify"><em>And finally, the PLA has been busy with exercises with Belarus, Thailand and the sailing of the 49th Escort Task Force to the Gulf of Aden. </em></p><p class="ql-align-justify"><em>Happy readings</em></p>