By Yang Jie, Zhou Yancheng and Du Ping

NANSHA, Nov. 20 -- Recently, the new tropical combat boots for islands and reefs environment have been delivered to the PLA Nansha Garrison. The new combat boots, which are lightweight, wear-resistant, breathable and shock-absorbing, have received unanimous praise from troops on the reefs and islands.

According to Wang Lei, an assistant at the naval support department under the PLA Southern Theater Command, the new combat boots are based on the Type 17 combat boots, with a focus on enhancing portability and breathability. They are much closer to the actual needs of the combat readiness and daily support needs of the troops stationed on the Nansha Islands.

It is learnt that this type of combat boots is developed and designed for the high temperature, high humidity, and high salt environment. Compared with the Type 17 combat boots, the weight of the new footwear has been reduced by about 27 percent, and the mobility and flexibility during training have been greatly enhanced. New-type synthetic materials are used to make them more comfortable and durable to wear and special shock absorption designs are also applied in details to improve their tactical adaptability.