BEIJING – More than 10,000 Chinese troops have crossed the country in itslargest military training drills, according to the China Central Televisionprogram Military Report.

“In the largest exercise of its kind, more than 10,000 troops traveled morethan 2,000 kilometers to arrive on Monday at two army training basesin Southwest China’s Yunnan Province and East China’s Shandong Province andbegin battle training,” reports the program on China Central Television.

According to the report, diverse modes of air, water, railway and motortransport are engaged in one of the largest trans-regional trainingexercises of the People’s Liberation Army’s Marine Corps (PLAMC).

“Performing tasks outside the country can hugely improve the Marines’combat capability such as emergency and rapid response skills,” aspecialist with China’s Ministry of National Defense said.

The marines are carrying out training in subtropical mountains and jungleareas in more than 30 areas of specialization, including combat, attack anddefense, searching, hiding etc., in a bid to improve their combatcapability.

China plans to increase its marine corps from 20,000 to 100,000 to protectthe country’s rising overseas commitments, the South China Morning Postreported in March last year.