China, southeast Asian countries conclude joint military drills

GUANGZHOU, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- A joint military exercise including Chinese, Cambodian, Lao, Malaysian, Thai and Vietnamese forces concluded on Wednesday in Zhanjiang, south China's Guangdong Province.

Code-named "Peace and Friendship-2023," or "Aman Youyi-2023," the 10-day exercise focused on joint counterterrorism efforts and on safeguarding maritime security. It explored new tactics in urban counterterrorism, maritime counterterrorism and anti-piracy operations, and joint air defense, and optimized related processes and mechanisms.

It was the fifth time an exercise with the code name "Peace and Friendship" has been held, and the first time such an exercise was held in China. It saw the participation of a record-high number of countries and the largest scale of military forces to date.