Chinese military has declared it would take them just 10 minutes to reach Hong Kong as the financial hub braces for more demonstrations over the coming weekend.
Thousands of Chinese military personnel waving red flags paraded at a sports stadium in a city across the border from Hong Kong today, according witnesses, a day after the chilling warning was issued.
Armoured vehicles were also seen inside the stadium in Shenzhen when the event was taking place as concerns build that China may intervene to end 10 weeks of unrest in Hong Kong.
Parking spaces at the stadium were filled with more than 100 dark-painted paramilitary vehicles, including troop trucks, armoured personnel carriers, buses and jeeps.
At least three were armoured wheel-loaders, and two vehicles carried water cannons.
Satellite images taken on Tuesday showed Beijing had apparently assembled some 500 armoured vehicles to a sports centre in Shenzhen across the harbour from Hong Kong.
The United States said yesterday that it was concerned about movements of Chinese forces on the border with Hong Kong and urged Beijing to honor the territory's autonomy.
But U.S. President Trump praised Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling him a 'great leader' and saying he could quickly resolve the unrest in Hong Kong if he wanted to.
He also suggested trade talks with China could wait until tensions in Hong Kong eased. He tweeted: 'Of course China wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!'
More demonstrations are expected to take place in Hong Kong on Sunday. Activists are currently applying for permission to march from the police.
The land force of the Eastern Theater Command of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday condemned the violent acts from Hong Kong demonstrators.
In a social media post, the troop also shared a picture showing military trucks parked outside Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre.
The sports centre, nicknamed 'Silkworm Stadium' for its design, looks out to Hong Kong across Shenzhen Bay.
'The Silkworm Stadium near Shenzhen Bay is situated 56 kilometres (35 miles) from Hong Kong Airport and it takes 10 minutes to reach Hong Kong from here,' the post warned.
Eastern Theater Command is one of the five military regions in China. Its jurisdiction does not include Guangdong, the province where Shenzhen is.
The post in question has since been removed from Chinese messaging platform WeChat.
Hong Kong has been rocked by protests over the past two months against a proposed bill that would allow people to be extradited from the city to stand trial in Communist Party-controlled courts in mainland China.
The mass display of opposition to the bill has morphed into a wider pro-democracy movement that has thrown down the most significant challenge to Beijing's authority since the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
The unrest escalated dramatically this week after anti-riot police officers stormed Hong Kong International Airport and fired pepper spray at protesters during bloody clashes.
China's Hong Kong Liaison office said yesterday that anti-government protesters were no different to 'terrorists' after two mainland Chinese citizens were attacked by demonstrators at the airport on Tuesday 'for being undercover agents'.
State-run media reported this week that the elements of the People's Armed Police (PAP), which is under the command of the Central Military Commission, were assembling in Shenzhen.
Some of the personnel inside the Shenzhen stadium on Thursday had armed police insignias on their camouflage fatigues, according to the AFP reporter.
The security forces could be seen moving in formation inside the stadium, and occasionally running, while others rode around outside on motorbikes.
Outside the stadium - which is around seven kilometres (4.5 miles) from Hong Kong - there were also dozens of trucks and armoured personnel carriers.
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'I don't know why they're here, but it could be related to Hong Kong,' a ticket vendor at the stadium told AFP.
The People's Daily and Global Times, two of the most powerful state-run media outlets, published videos on Monday of what it said was the PAP assembling in Shenzhen.
The Global Times editor-in-chief, Hu Xijin, said the military presence in Shenzhen was a sign that China was prepared to intervene in Hong Kong.
'If they do not pull back from the cliff and continue to push the situation further beyond the critical point, the power of the state may come to Hong Kong at any time,' Hu wrote.
US President Donald Trump also said Tuesday American intelligence had confirmed Chinese troop movements toward the Hong Kong border.
'I hope it works out for everybody including China. I hope it works out peacefully, nobody gets hurt, nobody gets killed,' Trump said.
Pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese city, have staged 10 weeks of relentless protests to demand greater rights and liberties.
The Asian financial hub has been governed under a 'one country, two systems' legal framework since its handover to China from Britain in 1997.
Hong Kong allows far greater civil liberties than those on the mainland, but the protesters say those freedoms are eroding as mainland Chinese interference grows.
The protests, which have become increasingly violent and led to Hong Kong's airport being paralysed for two days this week, have become the biggest threat to China's rule since the handover.
The Chinese military has not interfered in Hong Kong since the handover but it can should it be called on by the city's government to maintain 'public order'.
James Char, a military expert at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, said the deployment to Shenzhen was both to project an image of domestic strength as well as 'a carefully calculated message to the protesters to think twice about growing or continuing with their recent intensified demonstrations'.
'We can be certain the regime understands that sending in troops to Hong Kong will inflame the protests and the protesters' anti-China grievances,' he said.
The PAP are in charge of 'handling riots, turmoil, seriously violent, criminal activities, terrorist attacks and other societal security incidents', the People's Daily said in text accompanying its video on Monday.
Chinese authorities have on two occasions this week linked violent protests in Hong Kong to 'terrorism'. They have consistently described protesters as 'rioters'.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
