Shortly before Egypt commemorated the 41st anniversary of the October 6 War, our staff reporter interviewed Egyptian Ambassador to China Magdy Amer who shared his views on Egypt-China military exchanges and cooperation as well as international peacekeeping and anti-terrorism activities.
After more than a year in China, Amer said he saw high degrees of consistency in the defense philosophies of both countries, which were both defensive and non-aggressive. The goal of both armed forces was to safeguard national and border security, territorial integrity and domestic security. The Ambassador said China and Egypt both boasted long histories and time-honored cultural traditions, but also had bravely resisted foreign invasion to safeguard their homelands and maintain world peace. Neither had interfered in another country’s internal affairs nor staged aggressive wars. These shared features would surely lay a solid foundation for deeper military ties.
Amer said Egypt was the first Arab and African country to recognize the People’s Republic of China. Since Egypt established diplomatic ties with China 55 years ago, both sides had cooperated fruitfully in the fields of politics, economy and military, such as international peacekeeping, counter-terrorism, training and the manufacturing of military equipment. Such cooperation provided a very conducive complement to bilateral ties.
Looking forward, the Ambassador hoped both sides could broaden military cooperation so that Egypt could draw more experience from China’s high-tech industry, the development of military equipment, weapons manufacture and training. He said Egypt also looked forward to joint military exercises with China, especially in international peacekeeping and anti-terrorism operations.
He noted that international peacekeeping collaboration was a significant aspect of bilateral military exchanges. China had played a vital role in peacekeeping operations in Africa. Egypt admired China for its readiness to dispatch peacekeeping troops to conflict regions, especially China’s first peacekeeping battalion in South Sudan. Like China, Egypt had been actively participating in UN peacekeeping missions, particularly in the Middle East and Africa. Both countries attached great importance to peacekeeping operations, had established peacekeeping centers and regularly held international symposiums. China had been invited to attend the international peacekeeping symposium in Cairo in November. Both sides could stage more exchanges and cooperation in this regard.
With constant international disputes and conflicts, the functions of peacekeeping operations should not be confined to dispute settlement, but expanded to include the prevention of and response to disputes as well as stopping their escalation and other methods conducive to the final settlement of disputes. With the increase of China’s national strength and the rapid expansion of the Chinese economy, China could play an ever-growing role in the international peacekeeping operations. He suggested that China, as well as sending peacekeeping personnel, might also participate in more bilateral and multi-lateral military exercises, train more international peacekeeping personnel and provide funding and weapons equipment for large international peacekeeping operations. Egypt was willing to see China play a more active role in this regard and looked forward to joining international peacekeeping operations with China.
Amer said the Egyptian armed forces, highly professional and well respected by Egyptians, had played a significant role in Egypt’s political life, in both peacetime and war. Unlike troops in some Arabic countries, the Egyptian military did not serve any tribe or religious sect, but represented the interests of all Egyptians, with a duty to safeguard the security of the country and the people. When the political turmoil of the Arab Spring swept the Middle East and Arab countries, Egypt was one of the few countries that maintained basic public order and quickly restored public security and stability. During the process, the Egyptian armed forces had played an undeniable role.
Due to the successful efforts of the Egyptian military, public order had been restored and Egypt was making comprehensive efforts to boost the economy and improve living standards. The military never slackened and continued to perform its duty to maintain public security and eliminate unstable factors.
Amer said counter-terrorism was another significant duty of the Egyptian military. Terrorism posed a global threat and Egypt was a victim like China. Egypt had been actively cracking down on terrorism at international, regional and domestic levels. At the international level, Egypt had been actively cooperating with the international community, including China, in anti-terrorism exercises and blocking financial support of terrorism. At the regional level, Egypt collaborated with regional partners to tighten border controls and to prevent terrorists taking root in its borderlands. Substantial achievements had been made in this regard. On the home front, Egypt strengthened a crackdown on the terrorist rings in the Sinai Peninsula. Amer also pointed out that it would take persistent efforts over a long time to uproot terrorist groups, because terrorism was not sourced in Egypt, but influenced by external factors, including surrounding countries and the international environment. So, it was particularly significant to strengthen international counter-terrorism cooperation, such as intelligence sharing, personnel training and eradicating sources of terrorism.
Egypt would not directly join in the United States-led military strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but cooperated in intelligence sharing and logistics support. Amer cited the tough challenge already facing the Egyptian military in fighting terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula and ensuring border security as reasons for its reservations on joining the international alliance. Most importantly, Egypt regarded the fight against terrorism as a non-distinctive global action that should not be confined to a certain country or region. Nor should it be done only when the interests of some Western countries were endangered. The strikes against terrorism must be done globally and in a non-distinctive way. Otherwise, they would be unreasonable and ineffective. When one ISIS was destroyed, another ISIS would appear elsewhere, he said.
After the interview, the Press office of the Egyptian Embassy sent its feedback to express its full trust in and support of the China Armed Forces and offered its expectations and advice.
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