Chinese military puts joint drills on hold to fight coronavirus battle

Annual exercise in Inner Mongolia disrupted as crisis in Wuhan makes it too risky to transport troops

But patrols in East and South China seas will go ahead as usual, observers say

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The military has sent more than 10,000 medical personnel to Wuhan to help contain the coronavirus. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 10:30pm, 2 Mar 2020Updated: 11:34pm, 2 Mar 2020

The world’s biggest military has been forced to suspend all large-scale joint drills, with the coronavirus epidemic disrupting transport and allocations of military resources around the country.

To help contain the epidemic, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) sent more than 10,000 medical personnel to the central Chinese city of Wuhan and other hard-hit areas in Hubei province, according to Chen Jingyuan, head of the Logistic Support Department’s medical bureau under the Central Military Commission (CMC).

This mission also involved the deployment of various transport aircraft, including the Y-20, the biggest in the air force’s fleet, from various theatre commands.

The defence ministry said the military was now focused on the battle against the epidemic, forcing the PLA to suspend some of its “large-scale drills and training plans”.

Hong Kong-based military commentator Song Zhongping said disruptions in logistics were at the core of the training plan changes.

Chinese military puts joint drills on hold to fight coronavirus battle

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Annual exercise in Inner Mongolia disrupted as crisis in Wuhan makes it too risky to transport troops But patrols in East and South China seas will go ahead as usual, observers say

Annual exercise in Inner Mongolia disrupted as crisis in Wuhan makes it too risky to transport troops

But patrols in East and South China seas will go ahead as usual, observers say