By Mei Shixiong
ORENBURG, Russia, Sept.13 -- The Chinese troops participating in the Peace Mission 2021, a joint counter-terrorism military exercise for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, held an opening ceremony for the Chinese Camp at the Donguz training range in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, on September 12, marking that the Chinese participating troops entered the exercise phase from the delivery phase.
The Chinese participating troops have been transferred to the Donguz training range by rail and air in batches as of September 10. They started the field camp-zone construction since their arrival and transformed it from a barren pasture into a field camp featuring multiple functions and complete facilities to meet actual combat requirements. The Chinese Camp now integrates the director department, the group command post, the accommodation area, the cooking area, the medical area and the equipment support area, laying a solid foundation for the Chinese participating troops to successfully fulfill tasks in the joint exercise.
Major General Zhao Kangping, director-in-chief of the Chinese side and deputy chief of staff of the PLA Northern Theater Command, said at the opening ceremony that, the exercise will help the Chinese military deepen friendship and military exchanges and cooperation with its counterparts from the SCO member states, as they will learn from each other to enhance their training level in actual combat scenarios.
After the opening ceremony, the Chinese participating troops started combat training immediately.
As introduced by the director department of the joint exercise, the first phase of the joint exercise runs from September 11 to 17, concentrating on the assemblage and deployment of participating troops at the Donguz training range, and the establishment of a joint director department and a counter-terrorism group command post to study the joint counter-terrorism operations on site, as well as the implementation of coordinated training for live-fire operations.