The first group of Chinese air marshals will leave for the
United States next month for a two-week anti-terror training
program, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China
(CAAC) said yesterday on its website.?
This marks the first cooperative venture between China and the
US in aviation security. The 18-member Chinese team will have
training sessions and discuss tactics with their US counterparts at
a specialized air marshal training facility in Atlantic City, New
Jersey, the industry regulator said.
They will be deployed to serve on China-US flights operated by
domestic airliners once they've completed the program.
To ensure flight safety and security China and the US agreed on
April 9 to deploy air marshals on their respective flights entering
and exiting each other's territory by signing a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) on bilateral cooperation.
US airlines deployed air marshals for the first time on flights
to China on August 9 through the MOU, the CAAC said, without
specifying the names of particular airlines.
Since the September 11, 2001 attack, the world's civil aviation
security has been under threat from international terrorists,
warned Yang Chengfeng, director of the Department of Public
Security under the CAAC.
"The latest terrorist plot that was thwarted by British police
at Heathrow Airport on August 10 once again alerted the industry
that the terrorist threat still lingers large in various forms,"
Yang was quoted as saying in a news release posted on CAAC's
website.
"So collaboration is urgently needed between China and the US
particularly in the field of security checks, tactics, information,
air marshal training and law enforcement," he said.?
At least 2,000 Chinese air marshals have served on domestic and
international air routes since the force was built up since
2004.
The majority of the air marshals, who don't wear uniforms, are
drawn from existing airline security personnel who've received
extra training along with volunteers from the police. All have
received rigorous coaching in apprehension techniques, negotiating
tactics and crisis management.
The CAAC declined to disclose any detailed information about the
air marshals due to the "special" nature of their work.
(China Daily August 30, 2006)
