Code-named "Friendship-2006," the eight-day China-Pakistan joint anti-terrorism exercise began its second stage on Sunday after four days of weapons and expertise display in the hills of northern Pakistan's Abbottabad.

 

 

Training in anti-terror operations in mountainous terrain, Sunday's activities included command post exercises, and troop drills, involving raids, ambushes, cordoning, searching and annihilation.?

 

The joint operation began on December 11 and will continue until December 18, including hundreds of army officers and soldiers from both sides.?

 

China and Pakistan are conducting the joint exercise aiming to enhance communication and understanding between the two armies in anti-terror operations, to ramp up cooperation in non-traditional security fields and maintain regional peace and stability.

 

 

This land-based joint anti-terrorism drill, the second one between the two nations since 2004, contributes to the celebration of the 55th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Pakistani diplomatic relations.?

 

In August 2004, China and Pakistan held the first joint anti-terrorism military exercise in western China's Xinjiang, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.?

 

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2006)