By Chen Xiaojie and Chen Xiaoren
Participants of China-Saudi Arabia "Blue Sword-2023" naval special operations joint training attend the opening ceremony on October 9, 2023. (Photo by Wang Wei)
ZHANJIANG, Oct. 10 – The opening ceremony of China-Saudi Arabia "Blue Sword-2023" naval special operations joint training was held in a camp of a PLA naval brigade on October 9, attended by more than 100 training participants from both sides.
In his address, the commander of the Saudi Arabian participating troops expressed sincere thanks to the Chinese side for their warm reception and careful preparation for this training. He hoped the two sides will further strengthen cooperation to reach the goal of the joint training.
The commander of Chinese participating troops said that the joint training conducted by the two navies' special operations forces will play a significant role in deepening the pragmatic and friendly cooperation between the two militaries and improving the troops' real-combat training level. He hoped that participants from both sides will learn from each other and collaborate closely, complete every training subject with high quality, and promote their joint operational capabilities.
The joint training focuses on overseas maritime counter-terrorism operations and is divided into three phases, including basic training, specialized training, and comprehensive exercise. The phases of basic and specialized training include 24 subjects, such as multiple arms shooting, fast roping from helicopter, boat driving, and underwater explosive ordnance search and disposal, while the comprehensive exercise is about the maritime assault and rescue skill training and joint rescue exercise centering on the joint rescue of hijacked merchant ships by the special operations troops of the two navies.