Chinese Army to hold military exercise

BEIJING - The People's Liberation Army (PLA) said on Monday it will launch a military exercise, dubbed "Mission Action 2013," on Tuesday.

More than 40,000 soldiers from the Nanjing and Guangzhou military area commands and the Air Force will participate in the drill.

The troops are expected to maneuver over 30,000 km by vehicle, railway, sea and air in order to test the capabilities of the PLA in a real war situation, according to military headquarters.

The PLA will also test coordination capabilities of different army units and organize cooperation between military and civilian forces. Civilian transport tools, including railways and civilian vehicles, civilian airliners and ships will join the military action.

"Mission Action 2013" is part of the annual military training plan and has been approved by the Central Military Commission (CMC) chaired by Xi Jinping, who is also Chinese President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.