9/16/2010

Interview: "Peace Mission 2010" -- Strategic action fighting terrorism

MATYBULAK RANGE, Kazakhstan, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Ma Xiaotian, chief commander of the 1,000 Chinese troops taking part in the "Peace Mission 2010" in south Kazakhstan said Thursday that the ongoing military exercise of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is purely a strategic action against terrorism.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO REGIONAL, WORLD PEACE
"Peace Mission 2010" involves 5,000 troops from five of the six SCO member states -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan -- from Sept. 9 to 25. Uzbekistan is not taking part.
The ongoing exericse never targets or constitutes a threat to any country, Ma emphasized.
Ma, who is also deputy chief of the People's Liberation Army General Staff, said China's purpose in taking part in the military drills was the same as the previous six military exercises launched under the SCO framework.
"We aim to put in place a common understanding among SCO member states to further strengthen cooperation in various aspects, including national defense cooperation, maintaining regional security, peace and stability, and to show the resolution, willingness and capability of the SCO member states to fight the three evil forces of extremism, separatism and terrorism," Ma said.
CHINA'S NEW EQUIPMENT
Ma said the Chinese weaponry used in the exercises were all new and by and large represented the latest development of Chinese troops' equipment.
Ma said China had three goals in using the new equipment.
Firstly, it showed China attached high importance to this joint exercise and defense cooperation among SCO member states, he said.
Secondly, it indicated Chinese troops' determination, will and capability to strike terrorism.
And thirdly, it promoted military transparency, Ma said.
According to the Chinese general, the Chinese air troops were assembled home in Chinese territory and took part in the exercises by long-distance projection, which was the first time in the history of Chinese air forces.
By contacting the troops of the other countries in the exercises, Chinese troops had also learned a lot of good practices and experiences, Ma said.
JOINT DRILL ADVANCES SMOOTHLY
Ma said the massive joint drill had unfolded successfully at present.
He said the troops had staged two joint training sessions with cooperation of command personnel and troops of all sides.
"The process of cooperation is also a process of mutual learning and understanding. It has become more smooth and much better," Ma said, "The next step is to switch to live firing and nighttime exercises once the conditions allow."
KAZAKHSTAN'S EFFORTS FOR DRILLS' SUCCESS LAUDED
Ma highly appreciated the efforts made by the Kazakh side to ensure the success of the anti-terror exercises.
He said that Kazakhstan, as the host country, had made full preparations and arrangements for the drills in various aspects, including overall planning, force delivery, preparations for the drilling grounds, the designs of military field camps, and logistics support.
EQUALITY, CONSULTATION, MUTUAL BENEFIT
When asked whether the drills were "dominated" by China and Russia, Ma said, before the drills started, all the five participating countries had jointly held four rounds of consultation and participated in the overall planning and designs of the drills.
The principles of equality, consultation and mutual benefit were demonstrated and followed both during pre-drill training and the drills, Ma said.
The common desire and consensus of the SCO member countries were reflected in the drills and requirements from each participating country had been taken into account, he said.
He also noted that the succes of the SCO drills relied on the concerted efforts made by each participating member country.
Joint anti-terror drills of the SCO entered the second phase on Monday at the Matybulak range near the largest Kazakh city of Almaty.

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