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

as day and night live fire, first aid, minefield crossing,
etc. 78 The PLA apparently has not sent teams to
Erna since 2005 when they placed fifth and sixth out
of 26 teams (in 2002, they had come in first and second
places). In 2009, the Jinan SOF Group sent two 4-man
teams for the first time to the “Antropoid 2009” International
Military Competition in Zilina, Slovakia.
Events included parachuting, overcoming water obstacles,
mountaineering, hand-to-hand combat, and
shooting. Though a Czech team won, China finished
second and third. Other teams came from Belgium,
Britain, Croatia, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and the
United States. 79
China also has hosted workshops on functional
topics. For example, in June 2008, the PLA hosted a
3-day “ASEAN+3 international disaster relief workshop”
at the Shijiazhuang Army Command College.
80 There the Chinese proposed a tentative plan
for standard operating procedures for cooperation in
disaster relief efforts by armed forces of ASEAN plus
China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (ROK). The
participants also watched a field drill by the Bethune
Military Medical College. 81 Most recently, for the first
time China hosted a meeting of the Pacific Area Senior
Officer Logistics Seminar (PASOLS). General Liao
Xilong, director of the General Logistics Department
(GLD), made a speech at the opening ceremony, and
Liu Weiping, deputy chief of staff of the GLD, gave
the keynote speech on joint logistics support. 82
The PLA and PAP also send officers to foreign
countries for specific job-related training and to miscellaneous
exercises as required. In particular, several
PLA SOF personnel have attended the “Hunter
School” in Venezuela, including officers whose units
participated in “Friendship-2006” and “Peace Mis-
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