China to continue providing military aid to GDF

China will continue to provide military assistance to the GDF under a Five-Year Guyana Defence Force and People’s Liberation Army training cycle following a recent visit to that country by an official military delegation.

Chief of Staff Commodore Gary Best and a delegation from the GDF visited the People’s Republic of China from June 25 to July 6, a GDF press release said.

Among a number of agreements, the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) will train command and instructor pilots and engineers of the GDF Y-12 aircraft. Training will be conducted locally and is expected to boost the force’s ability to maintain the aircraft.

CATIC will also be covering costs for the upgrade of the Y-12 which now has an upgrade kit that would enable it to do maritime surveillance in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

In addition,  the People’s Liberation Army will send a team to train members of the GDF Band Corps in music.

The agreements will be realized through direct liaison between the GDF  and the People’s Liberation Army through the Chinese Embassy in Georgetown, the release stated.

The GDF delegation had fruitful discussions with their Chinese counterparts, the release noted,  and  the high point was a meeting with General Chen Bingde, Chief of General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army of China.

The delegation’s stay in China included a visit to the First Solares Coy Limited, a solar water heating company that supplies the Chinese Armed Forces. They also visited the People’s Liberation Army Navy Command College, the Third Guard Division of the Beijing Military Region and CATIC, the defence dealer in aviation products.

The delegation also visited several places of cultural and historical importance.

According to the release, the visit to China presented another occasion to further strengthen the bilateral relationship between the People’s Liberation army and the GDF and to explore future opportunities for training and military assistance.