China, India wrap up anti-terror military training with finale drill

KUNMING, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Indian armies concluded their first-ever joint anti-terrorism military training with a three-hour military drill in southwest China Tuesday morning.

The military operation, the third and also the last stage of the five-day training, began at 7:30 a.m. at a hilly terrain near Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, with the participation of 206ground troops from the two armies.

It is designed that more than 50 "terrorists" from "a certain international terrorism organization" have entered the border area of China and India. They "established" a training base and "intended" to attack a trading port on the border between the two countries.

The finale manoeuver involved establishing a joint command post, joint battle decision-making, implementation of anti-terrorism operation before wiping out a group of "terrorists" and rescuing "hostages."

The Chinese and Indian troops broke into the "training camp of the terrorists" at 9:25 a.m. and began to rescue "hostages" at 10:25 a.m..

About 10 minutes later, the drill ended with "terrorists" subdued and "hostages" rescued and brought to a safe place.

Helicopters, tanks, trench mortars and grenade launchers have been employed in the drill, according to sources with the drill headquarters.

The drill last more than three hours and ended 25 minutes ahead of schedule.

The joint military training raised the combat ability of the Chinese and Indian armies to fight against terrorism and enhanced mutual understanding and trust between the two armies, said Lieutenant General Ma Xiaotian, head of the Chinese military observer delegation, at a ceremony to mark the conclusion of the five-day event.

The training also promoted the development of bilateral strategic cooperative partnership, said Ma, who is also deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA).

"It's the real reflection of the confidence and power of China and India and their armies to fight against terrorism," said Ma.

Lieutenant General Susheel Gupta, head of the Indian military observer delegation declared the conclusion of the Sino-Indian joint anti-terrorism military training code-named "Hand-in-Hand 2007" at 11:27 a.m.

"This is a momentous occasion for us," said Susheel Gupta, who is also deputy chief of Army Staff, Indian Army. "This first-ever joint training shows our resolve to fight against terrorism and ensure peace for the entire world."

The Indian military official also expressed gratitude to the support of the Chinese side in safety guarantee, accommodation and medical services.

Pointing out that "military-to-military cooperation between the two countries is a very important aspect of diplomacy", Gupta expressed his belief that joint training and exercise will go a long way in improving bilateral relations and the issue will come out during the planned visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to China.

"I look forward to continuing the interaction between the two armies in the years to come," he said.

The two lieutenant generals inspected the troops who took part in the joint training and issued certificates and medals to each other's soldiers at the closing ceremony.

The anti-terrorism military training, which began on Friday morning, was carried out to implement the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding for Exchanges and Cooperation in the Field of Defense signed between the defense ministries of China and India on May 29, 2006.

"This joint military training does not aim at any third party," said Wu Xiaoyi, an official with the foreign affairs office under the Chinese Ministry of National Defence (MND).

Before Tuesday's finale drill, Chinese and Indian soldiers had displayed their respective weapons and equipment, jointly accomplished a series of training tasks including psychological training and tactics trainings.

During the five-day "successful" military training, soldiers from Chinese and Indian armies treated each other with sincerity, learned from each other, and demonstrated their special skills and strong anti-terror attainment, said Ma at a press conference after the closing ceremony.

China will continue to push forward military exchanges and cooperation with India in an effort to safeguard regional security and stability, he said.

Acknowledging that unsettled issues still remain in bilateral relations, Ma said the Chinese government insists on solving problems through negotiation, which requires communication and understanding between the two sides.

The joint training will play an active role in enhancing mutual understanding and trust and deepening exchanges and cooperation in defense field between the parties involved, Ma said.

Chinese army has presented itself to the world as being more open, more transparent and more confident by taking part in a series of anti-terror military exercises and trainings with foreign armies to safeguard regional peace and stability, said an official with the MND's newly-founded press office, who declined to give his name.

China supports fight against terrorism in any form and will be more active in participating and promoting international cooperation in this field, said the official.

The latest example was "Peace Mission-2007" joint anti-terrorism military exercise held by the six member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) from Aug. 9 to 17 this year in Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural Mountainous region and in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

More than 4,000 troops from China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan participated in the exercise, the largest of its kind within the framework of SCO since the organization was founded on June 15, 2001.

Talking about the possibility of holding new joint military exercises similar to the scale of "Peace Mission-2007" with China, Gupta said it should proceed step by step and be based on mutual interests and benefits.