500 soldiers help to clear mines at Vietnam border
Print Edition
AFTER an hour of combing a grassy hill, Du Zhanlong burst into nervous laughter as his metal detector began beeping loudly, suggesting a large metal item buried beneath.
After cordoning off the site with little red flags and painstakingly removing the soil on the surface, Du and other soldiers revealed the true identity of the mysterious object — a landmine.
A loud bang and a plume of black fume marked the demise of the decade-old bomb hours later. It was their first trophy on the 17th day of China’s ongoing demining mission along the Sino-Vietnamese border.
“It’s a battlefield in a peaceful time,” said the 36-year-old soldier, whose regiment of about 100 soldiers is working through a minefield near the Friendship Pass, a busy border pass in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
On November 3, China launched a landmine-sweeping mission along its border with Vietnam. More than 500 soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army have participated in the two-part mission in southwest China’s Yunnan Province and Guangxi.
It was China’s third such mission along the Vietnam border since 1992.
Authorities said the mission aims to secure the safety of residents and businessmen in an area where cross-border trade has replaced turmoil.
An unknown number of mines were laid along the border during confrontations in the 1980s.
The mines have caused serious civilian casualties over the decades and are posing greater threats in recent years, as the border region’s economic take-off has increased human activity.
Du said that in 2001, he saw a mine blow up a truck carrying lumber, injuring the driver. The explosive remained buried in a mountain in Ningming County until a downpour washed it onto the road.
Officials said the mines targeted in this round are “hard nuts” left by previous missions. Many are hidden deep in the mountains, forests or other complex terrain that makes sweeping dangerous.
A lack of official records adds to the difficulties. Of the 53 sites to be cleared in Guangxi, 13 have no records, said Zhu Zhanpeng, an officer with the PLA Guangxi Regional Military Area Command.
Zhu said they have employed robots, but only on flat and scarcely wooded terrain. Most of the time, it is still soldiers who do the exploring.
Officers overseeing the mission said it is meant to secure locals’ safety and boost trade. Closer economic ties between China and Vietnam have brought vitality to border regions. The two countries recorded US$64.1 billion in trade in the first nine months of this year.
In Pingxiang, which administers the Friendship Pass, trade has ignited a construction fever. The minefield Du is clearing will be used to expand a highway, said Sun Ruijun, the city’s mayor.
Pingxiang is cooperating with a Vietnamese city to build a “cross-border economic cooperation zone,” he said.
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