Soldiers coordinate search and rescue

It is rare to see soldiers from China, Australia, New Zealand and the United States all looking at the same data-filled whiteboard, pitching ideas for the optimal rescue solutions for distressed planes.

At the Naval Command College in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, 28 naval and air force personnel from the four nations learned to cooperate better during the joint tabletop exercise on humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

The three-day exercise, dubbed Cooperation Spirit 2017, concluded on Friday. It involved scenarios for rescuing distressed ships and planes in the eastern Indian Ocean in accordance with international law and standards.