Ten Chinese experts in mine-sweeping returned from Thailand Thursday after spending three months training local technicians there.

According to a senior official with the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, the Chinese experts have trained 30 Thai mine-sweeping technicians. They helped the Thai trainees sweep a 20,000-square-meter mine fields near the Thail-Cambodia border. About 200 land mines were detected and safely disposed of.

The Chinese side also donated to Thailand a large amount of mine-sweeping equipment including 50 mine-detectors, 50 sets of body armour, 5,000 detonators,100 kilograms of TNT and 20 tons of bangalore torpedoes which are devices used to detonate land mines, said the official.

The Thai government spoke highly of the sincere and practical assistance provided by the Chinese government as well as its effective and safe mine-sweeping technology. So far the Thai trainees have grasped the basic methods of mine-sweeping and are proficient in using the Chinese equipment.

The PLA official said the training conducted in Thailand is the first time that the Chinese government has sent experts to the Asia-Pacific region to provide humanitarian mine-sweeping assistance.

"It shows China's peaceful image and embodies the commitment of the Chinese government to international society," he said.

Since 1998, China has worked with the United Nations to provide training in land mine disposal and donated equipment to Mozambique, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Angola, Eritrea and other countries.

Source: Xinhua