China will be part of a multinational anti-terrorism exercise which is set to be held from May 2 to 12. [Photo: mod.gov.cn]

China says it will be part of a multinational anti-terrorism exercise expected to be held from May 2 to 12.

The exercise will take place in Brunei and Singapore and in waters off the two countries.

Navies of the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will participate in the drills, along with those from China, the U.S., Russia, Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

Wu Qian, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, outlined further details about the exercise.

"The exercise will include joint military training, sailing in formation, escorting, searching at sea, helicopter landing on each others warships, and the fight against terrorism. The Chinese military will send missile destroyer Lanzhou along with 12 SWAT soldiers and four staff officers to the exercise."

Hu Weihua, task commander and head of a Destroyer Division of the Chinese Navy, said such cooperation helps countries in the Asian-Pacific region to handle cross-border non-traditional security challenges together.

"Chinese warships have participated in ASEAN ADMM-Plus joint military drills many times, making a big contribution to pragmatic cooperation in such fields as humanitarian rescue and aid, maritime security, military medical science, anti-terrorism and peacekeeping."

The exercise is the first maritime security and counter-terrorism drill within the framework of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting–Plus. It's intended to boost pragmatic cooperation in defense and security amongst all the parties taking part.