Chinese peacekeepers participating in the Shared Mission-2021 command post exercise for UN peacekeeping operations communicate with the UN Department of Peace Operations and UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, Mali and South Sudan via video link
By Huang Panyue
BEIJING, Sept. 30 -- The Shared Mission-2021 Command Post Exercise for UN Peacekeeping Operations was held in Beijing from September 23 to 30. The exercise was co-organized by UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and the Peacekeeping Affairs Center of China’s Ministry of National Defense (MND).
At the training base of the Chinese side in Beijing, Chinese participants have online interactions with experts from UN Department of Peace Operations and peacekeepers from UN missions in Lebanon, Mali and South Sudan via video link.
This was the first exercise of this kind jointly held by the UN Department of Peace Operations and a peacekeeping troop contributing country. The exercise comprised of three stages – theoretical orientation, case studies and summative evaluation. Revolving around the “study and training of standard operating procedures (SOP) of UN peacekeeping missions”, the participants conducted analysis and study of cases in light of typical peacekeeping tasks ranging from armed patrol, civilian protection, emergency response, logistic assistance to civil-military coordination, and made responsive contingency plans.
Senior Colonel Wang Chuanjing, senior training officer at the Peacekeeping Affairs Center of China’s Ministry of National Defense, said the exercise was based on real cases of UN peacekeeping operations, and coupled with emergencies like compound attacks on peacekeepers’ barracks, epidemic spreading, etc., aiming at beefing up the participants’ capability of responding to various kind of contingencies in the complex and volatile peacekeeping environment and their technical and tactical capability of carrying out joint command and control with peacekeepers from multiple countries.
“The exercise is conducive to strengthening cooperation between China and the UN in the peacekeeping field, raising the professionalism of Chinese peacekeeping staff officers, it helped the participants have a better command of the policies, rules and decision-making procedures for UN peacekeeping operations, said Zhou Hui, a training officer of the exercise.
The exercise is also an epitome of China’s commitment to safeguarding multilateralism and the international order with the UN Charter at the core, ” Zhou added.
