Chinese peacekeepers complete East Timor mission

 With the 17th batch of peacekeepers arriving in Beijing from East Timor on Wednesday, China has successfully completed its 12-year peacekeeping mission there, said the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

The Chinese personnel who took part in the mission have been conferred with the United Nations (UN) peace medal and East Timor's national unity medal.

The UN department in charge of police dispatch to East Timor held a power transfer ceremony in Dili, the country's capital, on Oct. 31, marking the end of the peacekeeping mission, according to an unidentified official of the MPS bureau of international cooperation.

At present, the UN is organizing withdrawal of peacekeepers from various countries in batches. Some Chinese peacekeepers are still in the country to assist the withdrawal, said the official.

China's 17th peacekeepers departed for the Southeast Asian island state on May 22, 2012. Their tasks included investigating major criminal cases, maintaining security for East Timor elections, as well as community policing and special operations, according to the MPS.

During their stay, the peacekeepers trained more than 300 members of local police, conducted hundreds of patrols, dealt with more than 150 cases of various kinds, maintained security for parliamentary elections and other major events on more than 10 occasions, and handled four riots, said a ministry statement.

On Oct. 20, the Chinese unit directed local police and participated in the cracking of East Timor's largest drug smuggling case in history, capturing five suspects and 6.5 kg of methamphetamine, said the statement.

Since 2000, East Timor has received 17 batches of Chinese peacekeepers, who witnessed the country's peace process and actively contributed to its reconstruction of social order as well as peace and stability.