MALAYSIA AND CHINA HOLD FIRST EVER JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE

  

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The Malaysian Armed Forces and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) began their first-ever bilateral military exercise yesterday to mark 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 
The joint exercises will develop into something that is more current. Basically it will be non-war related operations. 
The five-day tabletop exercise at the Armed Forces' Joint Warfare Centre (Pesama) saw 20 officers from Malaysia combining their expertise with PLA's 21-men delegation to develop a common framework for humanitarian and disaster relief operations. 
The exercise, opened by Armed Forces chief Jen Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin, will be the start of many joint drills that is expected to culminate in a field tactical exercise next year. 
According to  Zulkifeli  the main objective is to enhance cooperation between the two armed forces, especially in disaster relief operations, and to a certain extent, on counter-hijacking in the open seas. 

• The PLA team was led by Operations Department deputy director-general, Senior Captain (Navy) Jiang Ke. 
• Senior Capt Jiang added that the tabletop exercise was a historic moment for both militaries as it symbolises the expansion of Malaysia and China's defence cooperation.

Source: Agency