(16 Aug 2019) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4225287
Dozens of armoured personnel carriers and army trucks were parked near Shenzhen Stadium on Friday.
The stadium is located next to a bridge linking Mainland China to Hong Kong.
They confirmed satellite images that showed vehicles belonging to China's paramilitary People's Armed Police, in what some have interpreted as a threat from Beijing to use increased force against pro-democracy protesters across the border in Hong Kong.
The sound of marching boots and synchronized shouts could be heard echoing from the stadium grounds on Friday morning.
Soldiers stood guard at closed entrances.
An AP journalist was stopped by security before having a chance to witness the stadium's interior.
Though a security guard said photography was restricted in the area, after consulting with superiors he allowed the AP journalist to leave without further comment. It's an unusual move given China's sensitivities around military and police activities, and in tandem with video of armed police broadcast by state media, it suggests that authorities are not trying to keep the drills secret.
Chinese state media have only said that the Shenzhen exercises had been planned before hand and were not directly related to the unrest in Hong Kong, though they came shortly after the central government in Beijing said the protests were beginning to show the "sprouts of terrorism
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