The first group of Chinese air marshals will leave for the United States next month for a two-week anti-terror training program, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC) said yesterday on its website. 

This marks the first cooperative venture between China and the US in aviation security. The 18-member Chinese team will have training sessions and discuss tactics with their US counterparts at a specialized air marshal training facility in Atlantic City, New Jersey, the industry regulator said.

They will be deployed to serve on China-US flights operated by domestic airliners once they've completed the program.

To ensure flight safety and security China and the US agreed on April 9 to deploy air marshals on their respective flights entering and exiting each other's territory by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on bilateral cooperation.

US airlines deployed air marshals for the first time on flights to China on August 9 through the MOU, the CAAC said, without specifying the names of particular airlines.

Since the September 11, 2001 attack, the world's civil aviation security has been under threat from international terrorists, warned Yang Chengfeng, director of the Department of Public Security under the CAAC.

"The latest terrorist plot that was thwarted by British police at Heathrow Airport on August 10 once again alerted the industry that the terrorist threat still lingers large in various forms," Yang was quoted as saying in a news release posted on CAAC's website.

"So collaboration is urgently needed between China and the US particularly in the field of security checks, tactics, information, air marshal training and law enforcement," he said. 

At least 2,000 Chinese air marshals have served on domestic and international air routes since the force was built up since 2004.

The majority of the air marshals, who don't wear uniforms, are drawn from existing airline security personnel who've received extra training along with volunteers from the police. All have received rigorous coaching in apprehension techniques, negotiating tactics and crisis management.

The CAAC declined to disclose any detailed information about the air marshals due to the "special" nature of their work.

(China Daily August 30, 2006)