By Liu Yiwei and Wu Xu
BEIJING, June 15 (ChinaMil) -- On June 13, delegations from six countries conducted on-the-spot investigation of venue facilities and road traffic conditions in Korla City, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and Quanzhou City, southeast China's Fujian Province, where the Chinese military will host some contests of the International Army Games (IAG) 2018. They also consulted on certain contest contents.
The IAG-2018 will be held in seven countries, including China, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, from July 28 to August 11, 2018. The Chinese delegation has completed on-the-spot investigation of the contests to be held in Russia, and held consultations on judgment rules, preparation and organization rules of the IAG.
The International Army Games is an international military event launched by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Chinese military has been invited for four consecutive years since 2014 to participate in the IAG, and has hosted some of the contests since 2017.
This year's IAG will be undertaken by the militaries of seven countries including China, Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Iran. The International Army Games 2018 has a total of 28 contests and four of them will be held in China. The Chinese delegation will compete for 18 contests abroad.
Among the four contests, the Chinese PLA Army will host the “Suvorov Attack”, “Clear Sky” and “Safe Route” contests in Korla City of Xinjiang, and the Chinese PLA Navy will host the “Seaborne Assault” contest in Quanzhou City of Fujian .
Apart from China, the militaries from nine countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Venezuela, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt and Zimbabwe will also participate in the contests held in China.
It is learnt that the IAG has become a significant platform for Chinese military and foreign militaries to engage in mutual learning, close cooperation and deepen mutual trust and friendship. It has also become an important window for China and the Chinese military to showcase themselves to the entire world.
According to international conventions, the Chinese military will provide competition equipment for foreign participants, and also offer efficient coordination and arrangements in terms of personnel customs clearance, equipment delivery, field training, information network and logistical support.