Chinese military on charm offensive as it announces joint drills with Malaysia, US and Australia

The military will hold joint drills with Malaysian forces in the strategic Strait of Malacca next month, the defence ministry said yesterday, as a training exercise launched featuring Chinese, Australian and American troops.

Analysts see the developments as a diplomatic move by Beijing to calm suspicions towards the People's Liberation Army as it extends its reach.

Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said the drill with Malaysia would involve 1,160 Chinese personnel and two Chinese warships alongside helicopters and transport aircraft. It would focus on disaster relief, search and rescue, and hijack scenarios.

The news came as China, Australia and the United States began a joint field survival exercise yesterday in Darwin, Australia, that will last until September 14.

The Chinese and Australian militaries planned to hold another joint event from September 20 to September 28, said Yang, adding that "Panda Kangaroo" would feature survival training, canoeing and mountaineering.

In recent years, the Chinese military has extended its reach as far as Africa, while China's assertive stance in territorial disputes in the East and South China seas has been seen by some as a threat to regional security.

Yue Gang, a Beijing-based military affairs commentator, said Beijing was aware that suspicions towards the army might hinder projects such as "One Belt, One Road", which is aimed at boosting trade and infrastructure links overseas.

"Measures need to be taken to alleviate mistrust towards China as Beijing wants to cooperate with these nations," Yue said. "Boosting trust is necessary to minimise risks and potential obstructions."

Pang Zhongying, dean of the School of Global Studies at Sun Yat-sen University, said that as more Chinese companies had stepped up infrastructure investment abroad, the military needed to strengthen its engagement with overseas counterparts.

"These joint training exercises are part of Beijing's attempt for the military to reach the international community," he said. "Such attempts can dispel mistrust to an extent, but how effective they can be is yet to be seen."

Yang said China and the US had made progress in talks over setting a code of conduct for their air forces, aimed at preventing miscalculations and clashes.

He also denied that China was rushing reinforcements to its border with North Korea following a rise in tensions between the two Koreas last week.

Pictures on mainland websites over the weekend appeared to show the PLA bringing in additional tanks to Yanbian, a Chinese border prefecture. Yang said the claims were "untrue and completely hyped up".

"Chinese border defence forces have all along maintained a normal combat readiness and state of training," he said.

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