Clear a past and present danger

China demonstrates its commitment to global demining efforts through concrete actions to help affected countries

On Oct 23, at a closing ceremony for a demining training course conducted by the PLA University of Science and Technology in Nanjing, 30 trainees from Laos skillfully demonstrated the techniques they had learnt for clearing mines.

This is the third time within the year that China has hosted training courses for personnel from mine-affected countries. After six weeks of rigorous on-site training, the trainees master sufficient knowledge and skills to carry out post-war humanitarian demining back home with equipment provided by China.

Laos is one of the countries most severely affected by landmines and explosive remnants of war, which have killed more than 50,000 people in the country since 1964. It is estimated that 80 million of the 270 million devices dropped in Laos by the United States between 1964 and 1973 failed to explode and that more than 25 percent of Laotian villages are still contaminated by landmines.

In addition to the human casualties, landmines have been a big obstacle to the country's post-war reconstruction and economic development, and hence a major cause of poverty in the affected areas.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, landmines have been extensively used in armed conflicts around the world, and according to an estimate by the United Nations, there are still 110 million active landmines scattered about in 68 countries, mostly in Asia and Africa. Each month, approximately 2,000 people are maimed or killed by landmines and other unexploded ordnance.

Landmine clearance is expensive and is still a difficult and dangerous operation. On average, one accident occurs for every 2,000 landmines cleared. At the current pace, it would take more than 1,100 years and $33 billion to clear up all the landmines even if there is no new deployment.

Chinese and Cambodian military representatives exchange files during the closing ceremony of landmine clearance course in Kampong Speu, Cambodia, on Dec 13, 2012. Chinese military trainers ended a six-week technical training course for Cambodian armed forces to clear landmines. [Photo / Xinhua]

In the 1990s, China carried out two massive demining campaigns in the border areas of Yunnan province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in an effort to eliminate the scourge of landmines in those areas. China's demining actions have been credited with being low cost, highly efficient and with a low number of casualties.