China, Russia launch joint anti-terror exercises

A series of large-scale joint anti-terror exercises kicked off here Sunday with the participation of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force (CAPF) and Russia's newly-formed National Guard.

The special drills are being held from July 3 to July 14 in Russia's Moscow and Smolensk regions. China's Snow Leopard and Falcon commando units, as well as the Russian National Guard's Vityaz unit, are participating in the exercises.

Liu Zhijun, deputy director of the CAPF's Exercises Department, said this is the third time for the two countries' interior forces to hold such exercises, which center on tactical skills in combating terrorism to boost practical cooperation between the forces of both sides.

Participants from China and Russia will conduct a host of drills in a joint manner, with a view to exploring effective methods in joint anti-terror campaigns to boost their abilities in this regard, he added.

Sergei Chenchik, chief of staff of the Russian National Guard, spoke highly of the discipline of the CAPF, saying Russia is ready to launch a new stage of cooperation with China and to carry out common tasks based on the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination.

Russia's National Guard was created in April following the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a bid to better fight terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking across the country. Endi