China Singapore Photo:VCG

China and Singapore are holding a joint army exercise with the theme of urban anti-terrorism, a move Chinese military expert Fu Qianshao said on Wednesday displays a high level of mutual trust and military cooperation between the two countries.

The China-Singapore Exercise Cooperation-2024 joint army exercise kicked off with an opening ceremony on Tuesday at a training base in Central China's Henan Province, the official newspaper of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), the PLA Daily, reported on Wednesday.

Under the theme of conducting a joint urban anti-terrorism operation, the drill aims to train in tactics for joint anti-terrorism operations under complex environments and enhance the two militaries' capabilities in joint command, collaborative coordination and unified operation, the report said, noting that the two sides will mix their troops in teams and practice courses such as basic training, live-fire shooting and live-action comprehensive exercises.

The commander on the Chinese side said that the joint exercise is expected to boost combat capability, enhance exchanges, boost traditional friendship and play a positive role in promoting the development of bilateral relations, while the Singaporean commander said that the Singaporean side is willing to work with the Chinese side in carrying forward traditional friendship, elevating the quality and effect of the joint drill, deepening military mutual trust and promoting the healthy and stable development of the military ties, according to the PLA Daily.

Singapore is a city state, so its military's main mission is defense of the city, with anti-terrorism being a main topic. Against this background, the joint exercise with China will help the two sides to boost exchanges, trust and capabilities in urban anti-terrorism operations, Fu told the Global Times on Wednesday.

This is the sixth edition of the Cooperation series exercise between the two countries' armies, the report said.

The fifth edition was held in September 2023 in Singapore, the PLA Daily reported at the time.

In September this year, the two countries' navies also held a joint maritime exercise in Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong Province, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Fu said that the consecutive joint exercises on the ground and at sea is a manifestation of the two countries' high level of mutual trust and military cooperation.