People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily reported that a joint security exercise of the PLA and the Singapore military took place between Jun 19 and June 24 somewhere in the Guangzhou Military Region. This was the first joint exercise with Singapore, and this was the first security exercise with a foreign military.
The exercise reflected the developing military relationship between China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). In recent years, Chinese military has extended international military cooperation on a strategic level – which is a national defense policy that has been listed in the Defense Whitepaper since 1994.
Source: PLA Daily, June 30, 2009.
http://www.chinamil.com.cn/site1/xwpdxw/2009-06/30/content_1818160.htm