Chinese embassy in Indonesia celebrates 86th anniversary of PLA

The Chinese embassy in Indonesia hosted a reception here Tuesday to mark the upcoming 86th anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). The event in honor of the anniversary that falls on Aug. 1 was attended by 300 guests, including representatives of the Indonesian armed forces, defense attaches from embassies in Indonesia and foreign diplomats. The reception featured video playback to showcase the achievement of China's military construction and diversified employment of PLA. Indonesia's navy band also played some of the well-known Indonesian and Chinese songs. Chinese Defense Attache Col. Xu Dazhuang, in his welcome speech, highlighted the core idea of the newly published white paper on China's armed forces namely "The Diversified Employment of China' s Armed Forces", saying China unswervingly pursues a national defense policy that is defensive in nature and China will never seek hegemony or behave in a hegemonic manner, nor will it engage in military expansion. Xu said the defense and military cooperation between China and Indonesia has developed rapidly in recent years, the two armies have further deepened and intensified their cooperation in high- level visits, technical communications and other fields. Indonesian Deputy Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin congratulated PLA's 86th birthday, saying China's military construction has made great achievement and developed its own characteristic. "I hope the good defense cooperation between the two countries can continue and contribute more to the global and regional stability," Sjafrie said. Established on Aug. 1, 1927, the PLA is the principal body of China's armed forces encompassing the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Second Artillery Corps.