China, US armies end joint disaster exercise

HONOLULU, United States - The first China-US Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) live troop exercises ended on Thursday in a US Marine Corps training area on the east side of OAhu in Hawaii.

The games, designed to maximize "side by side" interaction and communications, involved about 47 US soldiers and representatives and 26 officers and soldiers of the People's Liberation Army of China at Bellows Air Force Base.

"This is the 9th humanitarian assistance and disaster relief academic exchange between China and the US and also the first Joint Live Troop Exercise of its kind," said Zhao Kaizeng, deputy political commissar of Chengdu Military Area Command. The US-China HA/DR academic exchanges began in 1997.

"The joint exercise helps improve mutual trust between the two militaries and will contribute to the enhancement of military-to-military as well as state-to-state relationship," Zhao said.

Ji Li, deputy chief of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Ministry of National Defense of China, said "If I use one word to describe this event, that is cooperation. If I use more words, I will use 'team spirit and friendship'."

Col. Bill Florig, chief of civil military operations for US Army Pacific, also lauded the event.

"This is one step closer to being able to work together and I am hoping that it goes into other aspects of the mutual relationship as well," he said.