China's first joint peacekeeping exercise concludes

Multinational peacekeeping exercise, Shared Destiny 2021, concluded on Wednesday at a military training base in Henan province, according to the Chinese military's headquarters at the exercise.

More than 1,000 troops from China, Mongolia, Pakistan and Thailand conducted a joint exercise on Wednesday morning at the People's Liberation Army Ground Force's Queshan Combined Tactical Training Base. The drills included operations such as the construction of temporary facilities, armed patrols and escorts, the protection of civilians as well as the suppression of terrorists.

General Li Zuocheng, a member of China's Central Military Commission and chief of staff of the CMC Joint Staff Department, observed drills before declaring the conclusion of Shared Destiny 2021, the headquarters said in a statement.

It called the 10-day exercise an important event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations.

The headquarters noted that the event was the first multinational peacekeeping exercise held by the Chinese military focused on joint operations with peacekeepers from other nations.

It was intended to foster cooperation among countries that contribute peacekeepers and improve the skills of standby peacekeeping units, the headquarters said, adding that the PLA wanted to take advantage of the occasion to demonstrate and test the capability of its standby peacekeeping force.

The exercise involved infantry soldiers, aviation squads, engineers and transport and medical personnel, and used armored assault vehicles, helicopters and unmanned aircraft.

Over the past three decades, the Chinese military has sent more than 40,000 peacekeepers on 25 UN missions around the world, making it the largest contributor of troops among permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Since 2015, the PLA has established an 8,000-strong standby peacekeeping force and trained over 1,500 peacekeepers for 60 countries.

In future, the Chinese military will contribute more manpower and resources to UN peacekeeping missions, support UN reforms to improve the effectiveness of missions and enhance global cooperation to help build lasting peace and prosperity around the world, PLA officers said.