Foreign observers invited to military exercise

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-09-23 22:48

BEIJING -- Military officers from 36 countries will observe a military exercise of the Chinese army in the northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Thursday, the Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday.

The war game, code-named "Warrior 2008," will showcase how China's mechanized troops enhance their combating capacity under simulated conditions of information warfare.

This will be the sixth large-scale maneuver of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) open to foreign military officers since 2003, the ministry said in a brief statement.

The defense ministry invited the foreign army delegations and observers "with aims to increase military exchange between the PLA and foreign armed forces, and to strengthen mutual trust and understanding," it said.

More than 5,200 soldiers and officers from the Beijing Military Area Command, the Jinan Military Area Command and the air force have been participating the one-month war game at the Zhurihe training base in Inner Mongolia since August 26.

So far the "Red Army" and the "Blue Army" have finished long-distance maneuvers and strategy planning, and are conducting combat exercise with live ammunition, according to the ministry.