As part of the international study mission, Brigadier General André Patrice BITOTE, Director General of EIFORCES, led the 10th batch of the Higher Degree of Security Studies (BESS 10) to Beijing in the People’s Republic of China, from Saturday 23 to Sunday 30 June 2024.
This was an opportunity for auditors to embark on a cultural and economic “pilgrimage” to memorial sites of the Chinese Nation, such as the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, the Sino-Singapore Friendship Library as well as the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, a tangible demonstration of China’s commitment to climate change mitigation measures. The Auditors went further to assess the technological progress achieved by this leading country, whose potential for innovative equipment production in various fields (law enforcement, judicial police, cybercrime and cyber security), as well as the multiple uses of UAVs in both defence and security missions, underpin the day-to-day activities of NORENCO.
Keeping in line with climate change issues, the theme of their visit, auditors received some very enlightening presentations at the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force Command Academy in Tianjin. In the first place, Professor Song Shao Jie, a lecturer in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of Nankai, provided a general overview of climate change, which, he said, was the result of continuous human pressure on nature. Then Mr Cui Hong Guang, a retired general and atmospheric precipitation engineer, dwelt on the impact of climate change on defence and security. He stressed the seriousness of the damage caused by the changes, and underlined, among other measures, the need for cooperation between the Defence and Security Forces of different countries to deal effectively with natural disasters and humanitarian crises.
Lastly, the Brigadier General, Director General of EIFORCES, was granted an audience with the Major General, President of the Chinese People’s Armed Police Academy, during which the two sides agreed on the need to deepen the ties of cooperation between their two institutions, in keeping with the 52 years of cooperation between their two countries.
At the end of their mission, BESS 10 auditors were able to discover the face of a country with an effective, syncretic security system, based on technological innovation and the primary importance of the human factor.