In a move to enhance cooperation at the region and to improve response capacity during non-combat emergencies, e.g. disaster relief operations and anti-piracy operations, China and Malaysia will be conducting a joint military exercise within Malaysian territory and in its surrounding waters the coming month. The exercises that were confirmed by the Chinese Defence Ministry and reported by the China Military Bugle will be held between October 15 and 23, which will be the sixth of its kind.
Reportedly, the drills will involve over 1,000 forces, with over 700 of them being Chinese. It will include an extensive range of equipment, such as naval ships, helicopters and unmanned systems, which is indicative of a holistic approach to maritime security and combined response capabilities. The involved forces on Wednesday left the military ports of China in Zhanjiang, Sanya, and Hong Kong towards the military exercise location in Southeast Asia.
The drill has been included in the continued Chinese attempts to build defence relationships with other Southeast Asian countries, although the conflict in the South China Sea is still going on, as they all share the same territorial claims. These exercises will target the areas of humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and maritime security as stated by the Chinese Defence Ministry, and observers will be allowed to participate in the exercises as well as other members of the ASEAN. The program is aimed at strengthening practical military cooperation, increasing the response to non-traditional security threats, as well as helping to establish peace and stability in the region.
The precedent is linked to a meeting of the leaders of the South China Sea scheduled towards the end of the month that Malaysia is hosting this year, as part of the annual ASEAN summit. It will also hold a gathering of the ASEAN defence ministers and their counterparts in the region on October 30-2. The geopolitical meaning of drills is still becoming increasingly geopolitically significant as China asserts its territorial claim on nearly all of the South China Sea, even though other countries, including Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, have some claims there too.
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