Photos of the day: The first PLA combat elements to Mali

The first group of 395 are recon elements organic to the 16th Group Army, Shangyang MR.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

China commits combat troops to Mali

After weeks of speculations,  China has officially committed combat troops to Mali today.

You can read a good summary from today's FT.com

 http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e46f3e42-defe-11e2-881f-00144feab7de.html#axzz2XRWBsxTX

June 27, 2013 2:14 pm
China commits combat troops to Mali

By Kathrin Hille in Beijing

China has publicly committed combat troops on a UN peacekeeping mission for the first time, marking a big shift in Beijing’s foreign policy.

Having close to 1,900 personnel deployed as of December last year, China is already the largest contributor to UN peacekeeping missions among the five permanent member countries of the UN Security Council. But Beijing has long shied away from sending combat troops.

http://chn.chinamil.com.cn/jwjj/2013-06/27/content_5390966.htm

　　记者：前不久，联合国秘书长潘基文访问中国期间专程前往中国国防部维和中心参观，并在参观时对中国参与联合国维和工作给予高度评价，对中国作出的突出贡献给予肯定。前不久有报道称，中国将向马里派出维和部队，请问最近进展情况如何？

　　杨宇军：应联合国请求，中国政府决定向联合国驻马里综合稳定特派团派遣工兵、医疗和警卫分队近400名官兵。这是中国军队自1990年首次派出联合国维和人员以来，参与的第24项联合国维和行动，也是中国军队首次派出安全部队参与维和。

　 　记者：刚才提到的安全部队是否是作战部队？如果在当地进行维和是否会和当地武装力量发生冲突？第二个问题，从今天开始，美菲在距离黄岩岛108公里的地 方举行联合军演，菲方发言人表示实际演习地点离黄岩岛非常远，预计中国不会将此次演习视为挑衅行为，请问中方作何回应？是否把这次演习视为挑衅行为？