China and France willing to enhance defence cooperation; Indonesian Vice-minister and Polish defence delegation visits China; Beijing Military Area Command tests its readiness in hostile weather; A Chinese peacekeeping contingent sent to Southern Lebanon;
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    • The Director of the Regional Affairs Department of the Defense Staff Headquarters of France Philip Guney led a delegation to China to attend the annual work conference of Sino-French general staff headquarters and met with Ma Xiaotian, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on 11 February 2011. On this occasion, Ma Xiaotian remarked that the two countries enjoy a high degree of political mutual trust, and the bilateral economic and trade cooperation between them is rapidly expanding. He further said that the Chinese side was willing to work together with French to develop the Sino-French comprehensive strategic partnership. Guney also reiterated that France and China shared common views on many aspects. The French military attaches importance to developing friendly relations with the Chinese military and expects to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the Chinese military.1

    The visiting Indonesian Vice Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoedin met with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie on Friday, 18 February 2011. On this occasion, the two senior leaders pledged to promote bilateral defense cooperation. Liang said that China had attached great importance to developing friendly ties with Indonesia and had been ready to promote the strategic partnership for greater development. Sjafrie also underscored the rapid growth of defense cooperation between Indonesia and China. He also said that his country had been ready to work with China to promote cooperation in defense and regional security affairs.2

    A Polish delegation headed by Jerzy Niemc, Director of the Military Foreign Affairs Department, visited China and met with their Chinese counterparts last week on 18 February 2011. On this occasion, Ma Xiaotian, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army highlighted the maturing dialogue mechanism between the two countries. He said that the dialogue mechanism had become a good channel for the two sides to exchange views frankly, reach consensus and boost cooperation.3

    Reports noted that an artillery brigade and a motorized infantry regiment had conducted an all-weather and actual-combat drill with all their troops and equipment under information-based conditions in the end of the last month. This training was held in the Zhurihe Training Base under the Beijing Military Area Command (MAC) in the northern part of China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. To test and maintain its combat readiness, the Beijing MAC took the winter training as the first major military activity of all the troop units of the MAC and chose the coldest period in the vast desert beyond the Great Wall to organize this actual-combat drill. The drill focused on how to carry out long-range rapid maneuver in multiple ways, actual-troop and live-shell exercise. During the training, efficiency of various firearms under frigid climate conditions and combat operations were tested.4

    A 160 Chinese peacekeeping contingent left for UN peace mission in Southern Lebanon on Saturday, 19 February. The contingent includes 130 engineering and 30 medical troops. It is the first batch of the eighth Chinese peacekeeping detachment that is going to be posted in Lebanon. This contingent is mandated to conduct mine clearing, road construction, and humanitarian tasks. China dispatched its first detachment of peacekeepers to Lebanon in March 2006.5

    In other developments, an AC-DC integrated dual-winding generator system with fully independent intellectual property right that is able to simultaneously provide high-quality AC and DC power supply for new-type submarines has won the first prize of the 2010 National Scientific and Technological Progress Award. This system has been developed by Ma Weiming, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and professor of the Naval University of Engineering of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).6

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