China: Sharp Blade 2018, international sniping competition.

The "Sharp Blade 2018” International Sniping Competition was held from Oct. 18 to 22 by the Chinese People's Armed Police Force (PAP). Over 100 snipers from 21 countries took part, including China, Belarus, Hungary, and Israel, as reported by Chinamil.com.

Cambodian sniper at Sharp Blade 2018 (Picture source: eng.chinamil.com.cn/An Xiaohui)

Focusing on the characteristics of counter-terrorism operation, the competition consisted of twelve events including lurk sniping and short-distance precision sniping. The event is a great test on the shooter to utilize the battlefield, judge targets swiftly and accurately, and fire a precise shot. "We enhance our capacity here through learning from each other and exchanging views with our worldwide counterparts," said Shamsuddin Rozikov from Tajikistan. The Competition kicked off at a training base of the Chinese Armed Police Force (APF) deep into the Yanshan Mountain nearby Beijing.

Vietnam dispatched a four-member team this year. "The atmosphere of the competition is really nice, and the performance of the Chinese team is strong," said team captain Vu Toan Thang. The team from The Netherlands came to China for the first time. The team leader, Captain Maarten Helder, was intrigued by all the events. "If you train in events like this, you'll do better in a real war."

This competition aims to build a platform, enabling counter-terrorism forces from various countries to learn from each other, progress together and strengthen their friendship, said Zhang Xiaoqi, director of the intelligence bureau of the PAP Staff Department.