China and Turkey in joint drill

China and Turkey started a symbolic joint military exercise yesterday, with Beijing sending troops to a Nato country for the first time.

The Ministry of National Defence said that a special operations squad under the People's Liberation Army had successfully conducted the first drill with Turkish forces at an unspecified military training centre in the country. The exercise will last for a week.

These are the first land operations between the PLA and a Nato country, and they come after recent naval and air force drills with Italy and Turkey.

'The aim is to increase mutual trust between the two armies, deepen our co-operation in practical issues and strengthen our capabilities in carrying out joint military actions,' Xinhua said.

Mainland security experts said it was a counter-insurgency drill. Though the scale of the exercise is small, it will send a strong political message to Uygur separatists in the restive Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Beijing has accused some Uygur groups of conducting terrorist activities in Xinjiang.

'Both sides chose to hold the exercise in mountainous terrain. That is a strong indication, as it is where terrorists usually hide,' Li Wei , an anti-terrorism expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said.

Ethnically and culturally close to Turkey, the Uygur independent movements have traditionally found strong sympathy there.