TAONAN, Jilin, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese military officer said Friday the Peace Mission-2009 exercise has significantly improved their responsiveness of Chinese and Russian armed forces to terrorist attacks, despite the reduction in troop numbers from previous drills.

    "Peace Mission-2009 is not a simple repetition of the two previous exercises," Senior Colonel Lu Chuangang, chief of the PLA's coordination team for the exercise, told Xinhua Friday.

A Russian Su-27 fighter plane attends the joint military drill, dubbed "Peace Mission-2009," in the Taonan tactical training base of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in northeast China's Jilin Province, July 23, 2009.(Xinhua/Zha Chunming) Photo Gallery>>>

    Under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China, Russia and other member states of the SCO held two similar anti-terrorism exercises under the name of "Peace Mission" in 2005 and 2007.

    "The preparation time for the joint exercise has been shortened from 10 months in the previous exercises to four months this year, which show how Chinese and Russian armed forces can mobilize and deploy to a location within a very short time," said Lu, who participated in "Peace Mission-2007."

    The two previous exercises each involved more than 10,000 troops, but just 1,300 troops from each side are participating this year.

    "Although fewer troops are participating this time, more sophisticated weapon systems have been introduced," Lu said.

    "Both the Chinese and Russian armed forces are deploying surface-to-air missile defense systems, which substantially complement the air force strike forces."

    Professor Ouyang Wei with the PLA's National Defense University said that the riot on July 5 in Urumqi, capital of northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, had shown a clear threat of terrorist violence from separatism and extremism.

    "With China's interests and international status increasing, the country will shoulder more responsibility to maintain world and regional peace and stability," Ouyang said.

    Major General Luo Yuan, researcher with the PLA's Military Sciences Academy, said the People's Liberation Army had an inescapable obligation to provide substantial aid and support to the police and armed police forces in fighting terrorism.

    "Although the police and armed police forces are most commonly deployed in the anti-terror operations, the PLA should take possible anti-terror engagement into consideration to prepare for the worst situation in which military force is needed to defeat a mass terrorists attack," said Chen Xuehui, a researcher with the PLA Military Sciences Academy.

    "Chinese military forces have been improving their abilities to deal with multiple security threats and diversified military operations," Ouyang Wei said. "The ability to counter terrorists is one of them."

    Ouyang said that the PLA was improving its intelligence for terrorists that could compromise China's national security and enhancing its special force's ability to cope with terrorists.

    Special force units from both the Chinese and Russian armed forces are also participating the "Peace Mission-2009" exercise.

    Chiefs of General Staff of the Chinese and Russian armed forces told reporters Thursday that they were confident that the two military forces were capable of defeating any terrorist attacks.

    General Chen Bingde and General of the Army Nikolai Makarov were speaking after watching 2,600 troops conduct an 80-minute joint drill at Taonan

    Tactical Training Base in northeast China's Jilin Province.

    "China and Russia have a very clear objective to jointly eliminate terrorism, separatism and extremism," said General Chen, Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army. "We fight for peace."

    Falling on the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, the joint anti-terror military exercise, implemented under an agreement between the presidents of the two countries, is aimed at promoting friendship and cooperation between the two armies, he said.

    "The close coordination of the two forces in the exercise has shown that so long as we have a strong will and the troops fulfill their duties, we will succeed," said General of the Army Nikolai Makarov.

    The two generals arrived at the Taonan training base after they jointly announced the commencement of the five-day exercise by holding strategic talks in Far Eastern Russia's Khabarovsk on Wednesday.

    General Chen praised the Russian force's command ability and their valor, saying that officers and soldiers of both sides had shown a high level of professional competence.

    Military observers from the other four SCO member states -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- and the SCO secretariat, are watching the exercise at the training base. 

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