Anti-terrorism has become an important mission of the Chinese
army, as indicated by its high-profile participation in the ongoing
joint military drill staged by the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) nations, a military professor said Saturday.
China has sent an ever largest amount of personnel, a total of
1,600 officers and soldiers from land and air forces, to the war
game that started in Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural Mountainous
region on Aug. 9.
Professor Ouyang Wei with the National Defense University told
Xinhua in an exclusive interview China's participation in the
"Peace Mission 2007" drill shows that taming terrorism has become
an important mission of the Chinese army in an era when terrorism
has posed a severe threat to all human beings.
According to the professor, 14,338 terror cases were reported in
the world in 2006, up 29 percent from 2005, despite intensified
international efforts in anti-terrorism.
He said China also faces severe challenges in
anti-terrorism.
China is now under threat of terrorists, separatists and
extremists, who often collude with foreign terror organizations,
while it also has to crackdown on pirates and safeguard resources
shipping channels that may affect the country's energy security,
the professor said.
Threatened by terrorism attacks, many countries have come to
realize military's unique role in fighting against terrorism.
"Military participation has become a universal choice in the
fight," Ouyang said. The US and Russia have made legal regulations
to commit anti-terror tasks to their armed forces with a right of
preemptive attack to terrorism.
More than 40 countries have established anti-terror special
forces, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) has
decided to run an anti-terrorism troop of 21,000 people, according
to Ouyang.
"China is also a victim of terrorism," the professor said. "The
People's Liberation Army (PLA) has shouldered important tasks in
taming the three evil forces as well as safeguarding the country's
sovereignty."
He said that striking modern terrorism is a task that needs
international cooperation as no country can handle it singly.
China has participated in 18 bilateral or multilateral joint
anti-terror drills with the SCO members since 2002 to explore
measures in fighting terrorism.
The PLA has also joined Pakistan, India, Britain, France, and
Australia in land exercises or maritime rescue drills.
"These military drills have not only strengthened cooperative
abilities of each participant, but also deterred terrorism forces,
" Ouyang said.
About 6,500 troops and 80 aircraft from the SCO members --
China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan,
have taken part in the joint drill, which is scheduled to move to
Urumqi of China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region before it ends on Aug.
17.
(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2007)