Phnom Penh (VNA) - The joint military drill, dubbed “Golden Dragon”, between the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) kicked off in the Cambodian province of Kampong Chhnang on March 23.

The drill, which lasts from March 20 to April 8, attracts the participation of nearly 900 Cambodian and Chinese troops. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states have been invited to observe the exercise, the fifth of its kind.

The "Golden Dragon” military exercise, which began in 2016, aims to exchange experience and enhance the capacity of the RCAF and PLA in humanitarian operations, disaster rescue and counter-terrorism in the United Nations framework in accordance with the cooperation between two countries’ defence ministries.

Cambodia and China have conducted the exercise four times in the past, during 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020. In 2021 and last year, the event was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic./.

VNA