China Kicks Off Military Drills With Cambodia, Mongolia

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has continued with joint land and naval exercises with Cambodia in the Golden Dragon drills, according to the PLA Southern Theater Command.

Held with a theme of “joint counter-terrorism operations and humanitarian relief” on land and sea, the drills were split into three phases, being the adaption phase, command phase and live-action phase. Chinese and Cambodian troops held exchanges ranging from small arms familiarisation, unmanned platform operations, medical training and first aid techniques.

Over 300 PLA personnel were deployed for the exercise via the PLA Navy’s Type 071 amphibious transport dock vessel in addition to ships, armoured vehicles and other materiel.

Over in Mongolia, a joint China Mongolia exercise dubbed Steppe-Partner is also underway, completing its first live-fire training in Mongolia’s Dornogovi province last week. It is the first time both armies organised a battalion-level joint exercise and is a step forward since the China-Mongolia Border Defense Cooperation exercise previously held in China. Chinese and Mongolian troops carried out exercises to that focus on countering non-traditional security threats such illegal armed groups, cross-border smuggling and terrorist activities.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:PLA Southern Theater)