"The Chinese army is becoming more open and transparent and this
refutes the 'China threat' thesis," Peng Guangqian, major general
of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), said.
Major General Peng made the comment at the one-day military
exercise code-named "North Sword 2005" held on Tuesday in a
training base in the Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region.
40 military officers from 24 nations were invited to watch the
exercise at the Zhurihe training base, a tactical drill base in
north China. This is the largest number of observers that China has
invited.
The exercise epitomizes China's sincere wish to safeguard world
peace and stability and its willingness to help enhance mutual
trust and understanding and ease suspicion, said Peng, who is also
a research fellow with the PLA Academy of Military Sciences.
This is an important multilateral military exchange activity
with the largest number of foreign observers since the founding of
new China in 1949, according to sources with the Chinese Ministry
of National Defense.
This was the fifth time that China had invited foreign observers
to watch military exercises since 2000. The North Sword 2005 drill
involved approximately 16,000 soldiers.
"The facts prove that China is not a threat to any country.
Instead, China is a major force in safeguarding world peace and
stability," Peng said.
China holds military exercises in order to improve training and
combat capabilities, and these are not aimed at specific targets,
Peng added.
Exercises such as North Sword 2005 give other countries the
opportunity to understand the Chinese army, including training and
combat information that used to be confidential, Peng
acknowledged.
China has also increased its transparency in the military arena,
releasing four white papers on defense policy, military strategic
guidelines and military modernization.
"The 'China threat' rhetoric collapses on itself in the face of
these gestures," Peng stressed.
(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2005)