Exercises Internal Security

Jiangsu Yixing Military-Civilian Organizations Conduct Joint Water Search-and-Rescue Training

江苏宜兴军地组织水上联合搜救训练

PLA Daily (解放军报) 6 June 2026

Summary

On June 3–4, an Eastern Theater Command Air Force unit led a joint water search-and-rescue exercise on Lake Tai near Yixing City, Jiangsu, integrating militia, the Yixing City People's Armed Forces Department, the Emergency Management Bureau, the Forest Fire Brigade, the Red Cross Society, and the Yixing Lake Tai Water Search-and-Rescue Center, with Air Force helicopters providing fast-rope rescue swimmer support. The exercise documents the military-civilian coordination (军地联合) mechanism in practice at the county level during active flood season, specifically the command integration problem: who controls joint operations when Air Force assets, local PAD-organized militia, and civilian emergency agencies operate together. This fits the recurring pattern of PLA exercises that use seasonal flood-control requirements as a forcing function to rehearse joint command structures that would also apply in other contingencies requiring civil-military integration.

Translation

PLA Daily Report by correspondents Guo Fengkuan and Peng Bingjie: On the afternoon of June 4, a multi-element joint water search-and-rescue training exercise organized by a unit of the Eastern Theater Command Air Force, Yixing City of Jiangsu Province, and relevant military-civilian rescue forces on a section of Lake Tai concluded successfully.

The southern region has currently entered the main flood season, water levels in the Lake Tai basin continue to rise, and the flood-control situation is severe. In accordance with the annual joint training plan, with an Air Force unit taking the lead and the Yixing City People's Armed Forces Department coordinating local militia, the Emergency Management Bureau, the Forest Fire Brigade, the Red Cross Society, and the Yixing Lake Tai Water Search-and-Rescue Center, multiple military-civilian forces conducted training focused on subjects including integrated military-civilian joint command (军地一体联合指挥) and multi-element coordinated rescue (多要素协同救援), testing flood-control emergency rescue capabilities.

"Personnel have fallen into the water and are trapped in Water Area X—advance immediately to carry out rescue!" At 0900 on June 3, following the issuance of orders from the joint command post, a joint rescue formation composed of the militia emergency platoon, the Yixing Lake Tai Water Search-and-Rescue Center, and emergency rescue detachments rapidly assembled, driving assault boats, rubber dinghies, and motorboats through the waves toward the target water area at full speed. Simultaneously, a search-and-rescue helicopter from the Air Force unit made an emergency sortie to provide air support.

At the training site, winds were strong and waves surged as the "fallen personnel" struggled in the water. Inside the joint command post, commanders directed rescue operations with precision. Militia members skillfully maneuvered their boats, pressing through wind and waves to approach the target water area; the helicopter hovered overhead, and rescue swimmers fast-roped precisely into the water, quickly fitted the "fallen personnel" with life-saving equipment, and then extracted them using a winch.

The training also incorporated multiple special-situation scenarios (特情场景) including "mass evacuation and resettlement" and "medical emergency transfer." Military and civilian forces maintained a clear division of responsibilities and worked in full coordination throughout the training, establishing a three-dimensional rescue network (立体救援网络).

Original Chinese

解放军报讯记者郭丰宽、彭冰洁报道：6月4日下午，东部战区空军某部、江苏省宜兴市军地相关救援力量，在太湖某水域组织的多要素水上联合搜救训练圆满结束。当前，南方地区进入主汛期，太湖流域水位持续上涨，防汛形势严峻。根据年度联合训练计划，由空军某部牵头，宜兴市人武部协调驻地民兵、应急局、森林消防大队、红十字会及宜兴太湖水上搜救中心等多支军地力量，围绕军地一体联合指挥、多要素协同救援等课题展开训练，检验防汛应急救援能力。 “X号水域有‘落水人员’被困，立即前出救援！”6月3日9时，随着联合指挥所指令下达，由民兵应急排、宜兴太湖水上搜救中心、应急救援分队组成的联合救援编队迅速集结，驾驶冲锋舟、橡皮艇、摩托艇等劈波斩浪，向目标水域疾驰。与此同时，空军某部搜救直升机紧急升空，实施空中支援。训练现场，风急浪涌，“落水人员”在水中挣扎。联合指挥所内，指挥员精准指挥救援行动。民兵熟练操舟，顶着风浪抵近目标水域；直升机临空悬停，救生员通过索降精准入水，为“落水人员”快速穿戴救生装具后，利用绞车等实施吊救。此次训练还设置了“群众转移安置”“医疗急救转运”等多个特情场景，军地力量在训练中分工明确、通力协作，构建起立体救援网络。