For the first time, China is sending 700 combat troops to South Sudan to participate in a United Nations peacekeeping mission starting January 2015, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

It will be a first for China to send infantry battalion into war-torn areas although the country has been sending peacekeepers but mainly engineering, transportation, medical service and security personnel.

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The deployment of the 700-strong infantry battalion was approved by the country's Central Military Commission through Chairman Xi Jinping, the state media reported.

The infantry battalion that will be sent to South Sudan includes 579 Chinese soldiers and 121 officers. An infantry squad of 13 female soldiers will also be sent to South Sudan to participate in a peacekeeping mission for the first time.

The first batch of the Chinese troops, composed of 180 soldiers, will be sent to South Sudan starting January while the rest will be deployed in March via air and sea trips, Xinhua reported.

The battalion will be deployed in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, and assume the task of protecting civilians, UN and humanitarian staff, and will conduct patrolling and security missions

The battalion will be equipped with drones, armored infantry carriers, antitank missiles, mortars, light self-defense weapons, bulletproof uniforms and helmets, among other weapons for self-defense purpose.

China, the largest contributor of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the US Security Council, has deployed more than 27,000 military personnel around the world, the Ministry of National Defense said.

There are currently 2,027 Chinese peacekeepers assigned in conflict zones, authorities said, although their roles are not as combatants.

TagsChina Peacekeepers, China army