China‬ De-mines China-Vietnam Border

China has resumed a large scale de-mining operation along the China-Vietnam border recently.

45 officers and soldiers with the No. 3 Demining Team of the Demining Command under the PLA Yunnan Military Command (MC) came to Bajiaotang Minefield, where their teammate Cheng Junhui died during a demining operation on June 4, 2016, for the first demining operation since the beginning of the dry season and completed the task on the morning of October 24, Chinamil reported Wednesday.

Cheng Junhui died in a demining operation four months ago. Soon after that, the demining operations came to a halt as the China-Vietnam border entered the rainy season.

There are landslides, mudslides, and rapid growth of vegetation in the minefield after the monsoon season, which increased the difficulty of mine clearance operations. However, after nine days of hard work, Cheng's teammates successfully completed the demining work of Bajiaotang minefield.

Lu Mudao, deputy head of the No. 3 Demining Team was quoted as saying by the news daily that the months before the rainy season of the next year is the crucial period for the demining operations.

"We are scheduled to search minefields of 11.92 square kilometers, accounting for more than half of the total task, and the best memorial for the martyr is to remove the mines completely as soon as possible", Lu said.

In addition to the No. 3 Demining Team, the other three demining teams under the Demining Command of the PLA Yunnan MC are conducting mine sweeping operations in Malipo county, and Hekou Yao autonomous county and other minefields respectively.

They are scheduled to complete search and demining operations covering 36.8 square kilometers, accounting for 67 percent of the third large scale demining mission at the Yunnan section along China-Vietnam border.