Iron Fist-2004 expands China's military cooperation with foreign armed forces
26/9/2004 9:58
A military exercise code-named "Iron Fist-2004" in Henan Province, watched
by 60 foreign servicemen, marked another step in the increasing transparency of
China's military, yesterday.
A reinforced mechanized infantry division
performed the exercise at the Queshan Training Base of the Jinan Military Area
Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).
Luo Yuan, a military
expert with the Academy of Military Sciences of the PLA, said this exercise
showed that the transparency of the Chinese army was increasing and the Chinese
army had become more self-confident and mature.
The foreign military leaders
and observers are from Brunei, the Philippines, Tajikistan, Bangladesh,
Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan,
Russia, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
The ranking officers include
commander of the Brunei armed forces, chiefs of the general staff of the
Philippines and Tajikistan, and the chief of staff of the Bangladesh army.
It
is the first time the PLA invited so many foreign, high- ranking military
officers to observe a Chinese military exercise. It is also the largest-scale
military exercise open to foreign observers.
However, this is not the first
time Chinese armed forces invited foreign servicemen to observe military
exercises.
In August 25, 2003, for the first time, China invited foreign
military observers from 15 countries to watch military maneuvers at China's
largest tactical drill base. The event was aimed at introducing Chinese armed
forces to the world and strengthening cooperation with foreign armed
forces.
On Sept. 2 some 50 servicemen from China and abroad observed an
amphibian landing exercise in Shanwei of south China's Guangdong Province.
At
this event, the observers were military officials from France, Germany, Britain
and Mexico, and Chinese and foreign students of China's University of National
Defense.
At the same time, China set the principle of gradual participation
in multilateral military exercises to broaden its cooperation with other
countries. This principle was also put into practice by the frequent joint
military exercises and high-level military cooperation.
Since 2002, China
held joint military exercises with Shanghai Cooperation Organization member
countries, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and France. These exercises
involve non-security fields such as anti-terrorism, anti-smuggling, drug
searches and sea rescue.
However, Iron Fist-2004 was carried out by a
infantry division in the training base of the PLA.
"This shows military
exchanges with foreign armed forces are shifting from non-traditional fields to
the field of military security," Luo said.
Luo said this opens new channels
for Chinese army to cooperate with foreign armed forces. China's armed forces,
especially the land forces, used to be "mysterious" for foreigners.
Fan
Yuegao, also an expert with the Academy of Military Sciences of the PLA, said
this military exercise will show foreigners the PLA's prestige and
courage.
The exercises should help eliminate the misunderstanding that some
nations have formed about China and its military, Fan said.
Nine member
countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations and four member countries of
Shanghai Cooperation Organization were invited to this exercise.
"This shows
that China attaches great importance to the cooperation with these two
organizations and pushes the in-depth cooperation with them in security," Luo
said.
Xinhua
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