The PLA at Home and Abroad - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

Observers frequently hear similar statements from
Russian military personnel about their PLA counterparts
reflecting cultural tensions and suspicions between
the two countries. Other comments expose the
kinds of problems that exercises are intended to reveal
so that they may be fixed on future exercise and battlefields.
Nonetheless, the safe movement of such a large
force over such distances in the heat of summer is not
a trivial accomplishment. The Chinese were serious
about the mission and accomplished it successfully.
Shortly after the PLA’s participation in “Peace
Mission-2007,” the PAP sent approximately 600 personnel
from the “Snow Leopard Commando” unit to
Moscow for the bilateral anti-terrorist exercise, “Cooperation-2007.”
The 3-day, three-phase event culminated
on September 6 with “a surprise assault on the
‘sanatorium’ occupied by the ‘terrorists’ and successfully
rescued the kidnapped ‘hostages’.” 41 Prior to the
exercise, in a relatively rare instance of the military
media officially providing the true unit identifier for a
unit, the Chinese text of a PLA Daily article identified
the unit as the PAP Beijing Zongdui 13th Zhidui Special
Duty Group. 42 PAP commander Wu Shuangzhan
traveled to Moscow and told reporters the exercise
was “carried out within the framework of the ‘Year of
China in Russia,’ was not targeted at any third country
and did not infringe on the interests nor pose any
threat to any third state.” 43
In order to provide balance in China’s relationships
with Pakistan and India, 2007 ended with a bilateral
Sino-Indian anti-terrorist exercise, “Hand-in-
Hand-2007.” Held outside of Kunming from December
19-27, 2007, a company of Indian infantry paired up
with a reconnaissance company from the 14th Group
Army in the Chengdu MR. 44 The exercise elements
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