Australia, China, U.S. joint military drill ends with enhanced survival skills, friendship for soldiers

KOWARI 15, the trilateral military exercise that includes forces from Australia, China and the United States, has come to an end for its survival phase on Friday as soldiers and marines came out of the bushes near Darwin where they had underwent survival training in the past three weeks.

This is the second time the trilateral exercise has taken place, this year involving 30 soldiers and marines working closely together in the hot and dry Northern Territory wild.

The 30 military personnel include 10 from the Australian Army, 10 from the Chinese People's Liberation Army, 5 from the U.S. Army and 5 from the U.S. Marine Corp.

Divided into three groups, each containing a mix of nationalities, the participants first received training at the North West Mobile Force (Norforce), a Regional Force Surveillance Unit of the Australian Army in Darwin, and were then deployed to an inland camp in the Daly River region, where they learned fire making, hunting, trapping, finding water and making shelter.

They were then put in the wild without food or water for survival training for five days, three in inland area and two in coastal area.

Major General Han Peng, deputy chief of staff of Guangzhou Military Area Command, said the joint military exercise helps to build cooperation, friendship and trust among the three armies.

His view was shared by Australian Major General Paul McLachlan, head of land system, and deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Pacific, Major General Todd McCaffrey, who went to the Daly River camp to welcome the returning soldiers.

Captain Pan Kongbin from the Chinese Army told the story of how they captured fishes and turtles to eat while Sergeant Emmaly Hall of the Australian Army was amazed by the craftsmanship of the Chinese soldiers in making shelters without nails or ropes.

"Language is not an obstacle. We can communication with body language or drawing. The greatest thing of this exercise is that we forge friendship and trust," Pan said.

The KOWARI trilateral joint military exercise inaugurated in 2014 with the same scale.

"Our experience last year was that the participants quickly built strong bonds of trust and friendship in their mixed teams, and coped amazingly well with conditions that are hot, dry, and very challenging," said Brigadier Damian Cantwell, commander of Exercise KOWARI 15.

"Our countries already cooperate at a number of levels through trade, regional humanitarian projects and joint naval exercises, and this is another way we can learn from each other and build friendships forged through adversity," he said. Endi