China should take on more global responsibility, foreign military commanders urge

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By CGTN's World Insight

As China’s People's Liberation Army prepares to mark its 90th anniversary, it should take on a bigger burden and get more involved in regions like Africa, foreign military commanders said during a forum in Beijing hosted by CGTN’s World Insight.

The world’s largest military force has seen its role in global governance grow substantially since its founding. It has embarked on many humanitarian and relief missions and is expanding its role in UN peacekeeping operations overseas year by year.

But “China in today’s globalized world has to take more responsibility,” German Navy Commander Jorn Niemann said during the discussion at Beijing’s National Defense University, entitled “Making Peace.”

There are PLA forces in South Sudan, Navy detachments in the Horn of Africa and China has shown a strong commitment to United Nations missions, “but I wish that there would be even more, starting with more exchanging of personnel,” he added.

In July, China set up a support base in Djibouti, its first overseas base, attracting wide attention from the international community.

“The involvement of China in Africa is a welcome development… it’s a win-win situation,” said Nigerian Navy Captain Kg Levi.

“(The) African military stand a lot to gain from the wealth of experience (from China) in the area of military training, military cooperation, acquisition of equipment,” he noted. But China also “needs to tap into” North and West African countries’ experience with terrorism and counter-terrorism, he urged.

Levi also pointed to China’s “lukewarmness” when it comes to being involved in joint operations in Africa. “It is important that (the Chinese) are engaged in Africa in regular military exercises, so that it can foster the relationship between the two regions,” he noted.

PLA commander Xu Hui pointed out however that China has troops in Africa as peacekeepers “under the authorization of the UN”.

China wants “to help the local government and military to improve the capacity to defend themselves and resolve conflicts over there.” But the best way to do this was to invite African troops to China for training, rather than sending Chinese military over there, Xu said.

The forum brought together military officers from Pakistan, Germany, Nigeria, China, Colombia and Malaysia ahead of the 90th anniversary of the PLA’s founding on August 1.

For the full discussion, tune in to World Insight on CGTN at 10.15 p.m. BJT (1415GMT) on July 28 or the rebroadcast at 4.15 a.m. BJT (2015GMT) on July 29.