Although there is still dispute on why and how the PLA should conduct such joint training, it was essential for the troops' development to hold more exercises, said Senior Colonel Li Yadong, chief of the operations department of Jinan Military Command.

Missile artillery soldiers from the military commands of Jinan are filling up a missile. The exercise "Stride-2009" participated by one army division from each of the military commands of Shenyang, Lanzhou, Jinan and Guangzhou begins. [Xinhua]

The joint training also simulated a maritime crisis in which PLA naval troops enrolled 38 local military reserves to complement their divers' unit and radar operators.

"Those efforts concentrated on regional conflicts and overseas deployment the PLA may possibly encounter in the future," Gong said. "That accords with the exercise's code name, to stride."

The professor was surprised PLA headquarters announced "Stride-2009" three months before its commencement and revealed details.

Previously, PLA headquarters usually released short reports at the conclusion of annual tactical exercises and would seldom unveil maneuvers to outside media even though they were just drill exercises.

Motorized troops from the military commands of Lanzhou passes a bridge on Tuesday. The exercise "Stride-2009" participated by one army division from each of the military commands of Shenyang, Lanzhou, Jinan and Guangzhou begins. The exercise will undergo a series of live-fire drills lasting for two months.[Xinhua]

The increased information provided about the exercise by the headquarters and moves to greater transparency, such as a media tour to a military base ahead of the anniversary of the PLA's founding, are viewed by Gong as showing the army's mounting confidence based on its increasing capability.

"The PLA is showing more and more what it is and what it does to the outside world. This is understandable as a reflection by the military of the Communist Party doctrine to increase the country's openness," he said.

Gong said that people would witness more PLA activities than they usually did. Previously these had been regarded as taboo because of concerns over leaks of military secrets.

"The exercise itself has nothing to hide," he said. "The stronger military power is, the less it wants to conceal."

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2009)