Chinese and Malaysian troops launched a joint military exercise on Tuesday. The drill named Aman Youyi 2016 is taking place in Paya Indah Region of Western Malaysian province of Selagor.

As per China's state-owned news agency Xinhua, nearly 200 personnel from the People Liberation Army (PLA) and 140 members of the Malaysian Armed Forces are taking part in the joint exercise on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.  

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A high-ranking Chinese military officer Fang Fenghui took part in the opening ceremony of the joint exercise in Paya Indah Park. He said that the Chinese and Malaysian armed forces have made significant progress in friendly exchanges in the past few years.

"We've always believed that nothing is more important than the all-round growth of the friendly relations between the two countries and the two militaries as well as jointly safeguarding peace and stability in the region including the South China Sea," he said.

Malaysian armed forces chief Zulkifeli Mohd Zin referred the joint exercise as a 'friendly move', saying that it will help enhance synchronization between two countries on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

"Such friendly joint military exercise will help enhance synchronization with all countries on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. It will also help increase awareness. We believe while disasters bring casualties and damages, aid reliefs provided by countries are a reflection of humanitarian spirit."

The joint military exercise comes at a time of heighten tensions between the two countries over the South China Sea dispute. This is the third instance the two military forces are conducting a joint exercise on disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. The first "Aman Youyi" (Peace and Friendship) between the armies of the two countries took place in 2014. 

TagsSouth China Sea, china, Malaysia, joint military exercises, Paya Indah