China, Thailand hold joint counter-terrorism military drill

The "Strike 2024" joint military drill between China and Thailand commenced on Tuesday in Kunming City of southwest China's Yunnan Province, focusing on joint counter-terrorism operations.

The drill, set in the background of hostage rescuing, covers mixed exercises of demolition, battlefield rescue and more. Military officials from both countries are holding high anticipations toward the drill.

"The China-Thailand 'Strike 2024' joint military drill is highly anticipated. I look forward to exchanging military knowledge and counter-terrorism experience with the Chinese side during this year's training. I wish the joint training a great success and hope that the friendship between the two armies will grow stronger," said Pakkawat, commander of the Thai side.

"The joint drill is mainly comprised of three parts: integrated unit training, counter-terrorism drills, and cultural exchanges. The highlight is the exploration of unmanned and intelligent combat, as well as discussions on manned-unmanned coordinated tactics. We hope to deepen exchanges on training methods and combat strategies of special forces, enhance joint counter-terrorism and emergency response capabilities, and further build the China-Thailand 'Strike' joint training series as a significant platform for military cooperation and exchange between two countries," said Yang Jiansong, member of command team of the Chinese side.

The drill, planned to last for 11 days, is the 7th of the "Strike" joint training series between the Chinese and Thai land forces.

China, Thailand hold joint counter-terrorism military drill

The China-Vietnam Detian-Ban Gioc Waterfall cross-border tourism cooperation zone went into operation on Tuesday.

A colorful launch ceremony featuring traditional performances in the Chinese part of the zone in Chongzuo, a border city in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

As China's first cross-border tourism cooperation zone, the Chinese part of the zone spans approximately two square kilometers.

It began trial operations in September last year, receiving over 1,200 cross-border tourist groups and nearly 18,000 visitors.

The Detian-Ban Gioc Waterfall is the biggest cross-border waterfall in Asia. Within the cooperation zone, tourists enjoy facilitated customs clearance services, according to local border inspection authorities in Guangxi.

The official launch of the cross-border tourism cooperation zone is expected to yield valuable insights for the high-level opening up and collaboration between the two countries, said Hu Fan, vice chairman of Guangxi.

China's first cross-border tourism cooperation zone begins operation