- Title: China and the U.S. hold joint military drills
- Date: 18th November 2016
- Summary: KUNMING, YUNNAN PROVINCE, CHINA (NOVEMBER 18, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CHINESE AND U.S. ARMY PERSONNEL WORKING AT COLLAPSED BUILDING CHINESE MILITARY PERSONNEL OBSERVING DUMMY BEING BROUGHT OUT ON STRETCHER U.S. AND CHINESE ARMY PERSONNEL WORKING ON DUMMY CHINESE SOLDIER TALKING ON WALKIE TALKIE VARIOUS OF CHINESE AND U.S. SOLDIERS WORKING TOGETHER VARIOUS OF MOBILE BRIDGE BEING BROUGHT INTO POSITION MAN WAVING FLAGS VARIOUS OF SOLIDERS ANCHORING BRIDGE AT BANK BRIDGE BEING MOVED INTO PLACE (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) COMMANDER OF THE WATER RESCUE TEAM, FANG MINGHONG, SAYING: "These exercises use a group of trapped people as the backdrop, we use the bridge to move away the people affected by the disaster and to send resources to the island. (We also) used our equipment to rescue people in the water." HELICOPTER FLYING TO RESCUE MAN IN WATER WAVING FLARE RESCUER BEING LIFTED DOWN HELICOPTER MAN BEING BROUGHT OUT OF WATER VARIOUS OF MAN BEING LIFTED INTO PLANE (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. ARMY CAPTAIN, JEREMY REYNOLDS, SAYING: "So these operations do help to increase mutual understanding between our two militaries, it's a great opportunity for us to work proactively with the Chinese army and it also helps to build ourselves as individuals and widen our expertise with joint and international affairs." VARIOUS OF BOATS RESCUING PEOPLE IN THE WATER BOAT BRINGING PERSON ASHORE BOAT ARRIVING AT SHORE MEDICAL STAFF ON SHORE PERSON BEING BROUGHT OUT ON STRETCHER PEOPLE BEING TREATED ON BANK
- Embargoed: 3rd December 2016 08:16
- Keywords: military drill China U.S. Yunnan Provincem army humanitarian
- Location: KUNMING CITY, YUNNAN PROVINCE, CHINA
- City: KUNMING CITY, YUNNAN PROVINCE, CHINA
- Country: China
- Topics: Defence,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00158Z09QF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Looking past simmering tensions over the disputed South China Sea and the deployment of an advanced anti-missile system in South Korea, China and the United States wrapped up a three-day humanitarian relief military drill on Friday (November 18).
The exercises, held in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, come a month after a U.S. navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea, prompting fury in Beijing which called the moved illegal and provocative.
That patrol, the latest by Washington to challenge Chinese claims in the strategic waterway, capped off a tense year for military-to-military ties between the world's two largest economies, who are also at odds over the U.S. decision to base Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system battery system in South Korea to defend against North Korea.
New uncertainly looms with the shock election of Donald Trump as U.S. president earlier this month, a man who lambasted China on the campaign trail and has suggested Japan and South Korea be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
But it was all smiles and friendship as Chinese and US soldiers simulated digging out bodies from an earthquake collapsed building and rescuing people from an overturned boat in a reservoir.
"These exercises use a group of trapped people as the backdrop, we use the bridge to move away the people affected by the disaster and to send resources to the island. (We also) used our equipment to rescue people in the water," said commander of the water rescue team Fang Minghong.
Liu Xiaowu, army commander of the Chinese southern military region, and General Robert Brown, commanding general of the U.S. Army Pacific, chatted amiably as they oversaw the last day of exercises.
Jeremy Reynolds, a US army captain based in Hawaii, told Reuters the exercise was a unique opportunity for the two to work together.
"These operations do help to increase mutual understanding between our two militaries, it's a great opportunity for us to work proactively with the Chinese army and it also helps to build ourselves as individuals and widen our expertise with joint and international affairs," he said, standing on a pontoon bridge.
This is the fourth time China and the United States have conducted such drills since they began in 2013, as the two try to set aside mutual suspicion from the bottom up, rather than just relying on contacts at a more senior level.
The exercise, simulating a joint rescue mission in response to a strong earthquake, involved 134 military personnel from China and 89 from the United States, using helicopters, pontoon bridges and engineering equipment.
They also conducted tabletop exercises focusing on sharing information and joint decision-making, field manoeuvres focusing on victim evacuation of victims, and search and rescue of survivors. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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