Sino-Tanzanian joint military exercise underway

The "Peace Unity-2024" joint exercise involving the Chinese and Tanzanian militaries began on Monday in the East African nation and is scheduled to conclude on Aug 11, according to Chinese forces participating in the operation.

Troops from the People's Liberation Army of China and the Tanzania People's Defence Forces taking part in the exercise held an opening ceremony at the Tanzanian military's Comprehensive Training Center in the Bagamoyo district of Mapinga on Monday.

After the ceremony, the Chinese forces displayed their hardware to Tanzanian soldiers.

During the exercise, troops from both sides will jointly carry out drills both on land and at sea, aiming to hone their capabilities in joint counter-terrorism maneuvers, according to a news release from the Chinese side.

The Chinese forces in the Peace Unity-2024 consist of two groups: ground units sent by the PLA Central Theater Command and a naval flotilla sent by the PLA Southern Theater Command.

The ground units consist of troops from the 82nd Group Army, an information and communication regiment and a military hospital. The troops specialize in fields including assault, reconnaissance, intelligence, special operations, information support and logistics.

The Chinese naval flotilla has two Type 071 amphibious transport docks and a Type 052D guided-missile destroyer.