February 26:
The Global Times reports that after five years of negotiations China and Russia have broken ground on a railway bridge across the Heilong River, aka the Amur River, which forms the border of the two countries in Russia’s Far East. Designed with an annual cargo transport capacity of 21 million metric tons, the bridge will connect Tongjiang Port, Heilongjiang with Nizhneleninskoye, Russia.
February 28:
Xinhua reports China and India have agreed to hold a joint army training exercise named “Hand-in-Hand 2014,” and will organize joint navy training. The agreement was reached in New Delhi during a meeting between the two countries under their Defense and Security Consultation program. In 2007, China and India held their first joint military exercises, followed again in 2008 and 2013.
March 3:
“To prevent serious incidents in Xinjiang,” the PLA has improved border troops’ supplies and special forces training, said Saimati Muhammat, major general and deputy commander of the Xinjiang Military Area Command. “The armed forces in Xinjiang will never ease border controls. We watch the border closely. Any oversight, which lets terrorists in or out, is unacceptable.” He said the purpose of terrorism was to destroy ethnic unity. “We will not let them have their way. The fight is not about ethnic issues, religion or cultural differences. They are enemies of all ethnic groups.” In Xinjiang border troops operate under extreme conditions. Some are stationed in mountains 5,000 meters above sea level and endure temperatures of -30 to -40 degrees Celsius, the official PLA Daily reports.
March 5:
China’s Aviation Industry Corporation has created a new aerial drone that reduces air pollution, South China Morning Post reports. This month the vehicle, which sprays chemicals that freeze pollutants causing them to fall to the ground, is being tested by the China Meteorological Administration at airports and ports. The drone carries 700 kg of smog-clearing chemicals that could be used over a five-km radius. It has already carried out about 100 hours of test flights and is easy to control and land, making it suitable for use at airports.
[Editor’s Note: In his speech at the National People’s Congress Premier Li Keqiang said the government would “declare war” on pollution. Last week, residents in Beijing and surrounding provinces voiced their anger on social media over authorities’ slow response to the thick smog that covered much of the north.]
After forensic examination, Chinese officials have identified eleven people killed by Kyrgyz border police in Pikertyk near the China border last month as members of an “extremist terrorist group,” 24.kg news agency reports. During a March 4 meeting between China’s Public Security Ministry officials and Kyrgyz interior minister officials, “the Chinese side said that all were members of an extremist and terrorist group. There was no information about their affiliation with any ethnic group.”