NATO delegation visits capital garrison

Beijing (CNS) -- The third guard division of the Beijing Garrison received a delegation from the military branch of NATO on Tuesday. This is the first time NATO has visited a Chinese military camp.

The host division mainly shoulders the tasks of maneuvers and air defense, anti-terrorism and stability maintenance in the capital, all using domestically made technology.

Soldiers demonstrated firing with small arms, scout combat, and anti-terrorist action emergency teamwork, as included in their regular drills.

Impressed by the high caliber performance shown by the Chinese army, Lt. Gen. Bornemann showed his trust by cooperating with the Chinese military in international peace keeping missions, such as the ongoing actions in the Gulf of Aden. He expects further talks will explore more common ground for joint efforts.

The delegation was also invited to sample some Chinese cuisine at the military base, which Lt. Gen. Bornemann judged to be especially delicious.

This is a return visit for the general complementing the June visit made to the Chinese Ministry of Defense (MOD) delegation in 2010.

Qian Lihua, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of MOD, met with Lieutenant General Jürgen Bornemann, director-general of the NATO International Military Staff earlier, and they exchanged views on China's defense strategy, regional security prospects, and transformations and development s within NATO.

Lt. Gen. Bornemann pledged that NATO is strictly following UN resolutions before determining any actions, while Qian proposed that NATO concentrate on unscrambling the resolutions regarding regions outside of Europe, recognizing regional diversity is an explicit factor.

One can never conquer a country with force. Even though geographically conquered, the conqueror of an ostensibly defeated country will never win the hearts of its people, concluded Qian.