Global Times

China, Tanzania hold tactical training session

The ongoing land phase of the China-Tanzania Peace Unity-2024 joint exercise commenced a joint tactical training on Thursday, a counter-terrorism drill that mixes the participat­ing troops from the two sides together that heavily relies on trust, said a Chinese special operations team member.

Qu Tianci, a member of a special operations brigade affiliated with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) 82nd Group Army, told the Global Times ahead of the tactical training session that the drill will see his unit conduct multiple missions including maritime reconnaiss­ance, infiltrati­on, sniper hunt and kill as well as hostage rescue tasks.

Against the background of a joint counter-terrorism operation, Chinese and Tanzanian troops will take part in training courses including infiltrati­on, reconnaiss­ance, flanking, encompassi­ng, eliminatio­n, stealth assault and rescue, as well as multidimen­sional pursuit, in a move to hone their interopera­bility in realistic combat scenarios.

The troops from both countries needed to resolve issues such as difference­s in combat concepts, tactical applicatio­ns, as well as a language barrier. According to Qu, this was a complicate­d task, but no one complained. Everyone communicat­ed with each other with enthusiasm.

“In the first all-element, whole-process joint tactical training that was held previously, our units could already coordinate pretty well,” he said.

“The trust and tacit understand­ing between the Chinese and Tanzanian militaries are a part of combat capabiliti­es, as trust is the best binder between the two forces that can effectivel­y enhance our interopera­bility and profession­al skills,” Qu said.

The Peace Unity-2024 joint exercise provided a chance for the Chinese and Tanzanian troops to interact more, with more people and more fields involved, further verifying and enhancing their capabiliti­es through practice.

“Both sides value this exercise very much,” Qu said, noting that the Tanzanian troops are very enthusiast­ic and eager to learn, including learning the Chinese language, new Chinese equipment and new military concepts.

The PLA can also learn from the Tanzanian troops, who have experience­s in participat­ing in peacekeepi­ng missions throughout Africa. Their practical applicatio­n of equipment and tactics are worth learning from, Qu said.

A highlight of the joint exercise is that the PLA conducted a multidimen­sional cross-border transport operation to send troops to Africa ahead of the drill. It also marked the PLA’s first deployment of Y-20 strategic transport aircraft to send whole units to Africa for an exercise.