China shows defense diplomacy with a multinational peacekeeping exercise

QUESHAN, China, Sept. 15 (Reuters) – China’s armed forces concluded their first multinational peacekeeping exercise on Wednesday, showing off their combat skills with drones and mine clearance robots as they tried to project an image more benign.

As the Asian giant modernizes and strengthens its army by investing hundreds of billions of dollars annually in its defense budget, it has also strived to assure other countries that its army is a definitive force, not a threat. .

About 1,000 troops from China, Pakistan, Mongolia and Thailand participated in the ten-day exercise at a People’s Liberation Army training base in Queshan County, central Henan Province, all and that most of the soldiers appeared to be Chinese.

The exercise, codenamed “Shared Destiny 2021,” underscored China’s position as a “strong advocate for world peace and international order,” senior Colonel Lu told reporters at the base. Jianxin, Chinese military expert in peacekeeping.

The soldiers, in front of a small group of journalists, enacted clashes between terrorists and peacekeepers in the fictitious country of Carana, ravaged by conflict.

The exercise was based on a 2016 incident in Mali when Chinese peacekeepers were attacked and one of them was killed.

Troops also depicted a scene based on another 2016 incident in South Sudan, when peacekeepers had to protect civilians trapped in factional fighting.

In another scenario, the drones boiled the battlefield to detect bombs, which when found were removed by the robots. The drones also doubled as speakers and launched multicolored pamphlets to urge people to stop fighting.

The exercise was also a showcase of Chinese military equipment. Foreign troops trained with Chinese weapons and other equipment.

“The use of Chinese equipment by foreign troops can be promoted as a sign of improved military interoperability … and also for the purpose of marketing them to foreign military,” said Collin Koh, a researcher at defense of the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. .

China has repeatedly tried to dispel concerns from neighboring countries and beyond about their military intentions, even as it regularly practices near Taiwan, claimed by China, and the disputed South China Sea.

China is proud to be the main contributor to peacekeeping troops among the major powers, represented by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

As the second largest financial contributor, China covered 15% of the total costs of United Nations peacekeeping operations in 2020.

Since 1990, it has sent 50,000 troops to participate in 25 peacekeeping missions around the world, built or repaired 17,000 km of roads and more than 300 bridges, and eliminated 18,000 mines, said expert Lu.

Yew Lun Tian Reports; Edited by Ben Blanchard, Robert Birsel

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