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

in their ability to venture beyond China’s territorial
waters.
Combined Exercises with Foreign Militaries. Combined
exercises serve several functions. Similar to
PLAN port calls; combined exercises offer the PLA an
opportunity to demonstrate its improving capabilities
to the international community. They also offer an opportunity
to observe and learn from foreign militaries
in an operational environment. Finally, the exercises
serve as a vehicle for building trust and solidifying security
cooperation with select countries.
The PLA’s participation in combined exercises is
a relatively recent development and has received a
great deal of attention in China’s official press and in
the biennial national Defense White Papers. 58 The PLA’s
willingness to engage in combined military exercises
with foreign militaries represents a radical departure
from previous practice. A mere 10 years ago, Finkelstein
and McDevitt wrote, “As a general policy, the
PLA does not conduct combined activities such as
training or exercises with any foreign militaries.” 59
Three years later, in October 2002, China participated
in a combined exercise with a foreign military for the
first time, when it conducted a joint anti-terrorism
military exercise with Kyrgyzstan. 60
During the 2000s, China has conducted a number
of what the international community refers to as
“combined,” but the PLA calls “joint,” exercises with
foreign countries. According to an article by PLA Major
General Luo Yuan, between 2002 and late 2007,
the PLA conducted 18 joint exercises with 11 foreign
nations, all of which were covered by the news media.
61 Since 2007, the PLA has reportedly held 29 joint
military exercises or joint training exercises with a
number of different countries, including Russia, Thai-
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