By Zhu Xiaonan
JUBA, May 17 (PLA Daily) -- On May 15, local time, the 5th Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion to South Sudan passed the equipment inspection organized by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on the first try with a high standard. This is the third time that they have passed the UN inspection since deployment to the mission area.
The inspection team from the UNMISS first listened to the equipment maintenance report of the battalion. According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the UN and contributors of peacekeeping forces, the inspectors examined essential hardware including weapons, vehicles and engineering equipment, as well as self-sustaining support devices for communication, medical service and firefighting, item by item and unit by unit.
Over the five hours’ stringent inspection, all the equipment and facilities met or surpassed the specified UN standards, while the Chinese peacekeepers’ first-class management level has won high appraisals by the inspectors. “The Chinese peacekeeping infantry battalion to South Sudan has the first-class equipment management skill and all equipment is well maintained in the mission area. They have become a role model of the Juba Camp,” a UN official said.
The equipment inspection coincided with the rainy season in South Sudan. The cumulative mileage of the Chinese vehicles had reached more than 200,000 kilometers, bringing a certain level of challenge to equipment maintenance. Combining with the actual task, Chinese peacekeepers specially arranged condition-based maintenance and ensured enough repairing crew members, closely monitoring various kinds of equipment, facilities and weapons. Their hard work had laid a solid foundation for passing the UN equipment inspection smoothly.
It is understood that the UN inspection is a comprehensive assessment of whether the equipment and facilities provided by the troop contributing countries (TCC) can meet the peacekeeping requirements, which forms the fundamental basis for economic compensation paid by UN to the troop-contributing countries.