SINGAPORE, CHINA EMBARK ON FIRST JOINT TRAINING EXERCISE

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China are conducting the two nations' first bilateral training exercise in Guilin, Guangzhou, China, from 18 to 26 Jun.

Codenamed Cooperation 2009, the joint counter-terrorism (CT) training exercise involves about 60 troops from each of the armed forces.

The SAF's participating troops include soldiers from the 2nd People's Defence Force and the SAF Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives (CBRE) Defence Group. They are training with personnel from the PLA Emergency Response Office and Guangzhou Military Region.

The focus of the nine-day joint CT training exercise is on the conduct of security operations for major events and consequence management concepts related to CBRE threats.

Cooperation 2009 underscores the progress made in the defence relationship between Singapore and China following the signing of the bilateral Agreement on Defence Exchanges and Security Cooperation in January 2008. The SAF and PLA interact regularly through exchanges of visits, courses, seminars and port calls.