Laos is to host disaster rescue exercises with Cambodia and Vietnam from 9 to 16 September, according to a report by Xinhua.
Cambodian officials said the country will dispatch some 70 soldiers to participate in the tri-nation disaster rescue exercises.
“It will be the first time that the soldiers of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam jointly conduct a disaster rescue exercise,” General Ith Sarath, deputy commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, told reporters.
He stated that the upcoming exercise would involve about 300 Lao soldiers, 70 Cambodian soldiers, and approximately 120 Vietnamese troops.
The coordinated drill, according to Sarath, is intended to boost rescue skills for soldiers in the three adjacent countries in the case of floods or storms along the border.
The exercise is also aimed at further promoting cooperation and friendship between the three countries, while residents along the borders will benefit.
This year’s heavy rains have seen particularly bad flooding in Laos, as well as neighboring countries including China.
In July, a regiment of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army medical corps arrived in Laos via the Laos-China Railway for a five-day humanitarian and medical rescue exercise with a focus on emergency rescue and disaster relief work in relation to national defense.
