Zhuhai police hold anti-terror drills at Hong Kong bridge port

More than 1,000 police officers in Zhuhai, South China’s Guangdong Province conducted antiterror exercises on Friday at the foot of the bridge that connects the city to Hong Kong and Macao, as law enforcement representatives from Hong Kong and Macao witnessed the event that featured 80 vehicles, high-speed boats, drones and anti-drone technology.

The exercise started Friday morning at the Zhuhai Port of the 55-kilometer-long Hong KongZhuhai-Macao Bridge, with local officials and police representatives from Hong Kong and Macao attending the event, Guangdong-based South Daily reported on Saturday.

Multiple squads of police officers holding riot shields, wearing helmets and shouldering assault rifles gathered at a staging area. Police on motorcycles and special mission vehicles including armored vehicles and speed boats offshore, are seen in a video released by Zhuhai traffic police on its Sina Weibo account.

With an order to start the drills from a leader on a podium, officers formed various formations simulating crowd control tactics. Riot police created a wall of riot shields, as those behind raised batons and readied their shotguns. Each squad raised a huge banner that read “Stop charging or we [will] use force” in Chinese and English, according to the video.

Drones were deployed to gather information and shot projectiles at illegal drones.

The drills concluded with an oath-swearing ceremony, in which more than a 1,000 Zhuhai police personnel swore to safeguard the political security, social stability and the people’s peaceful life, the South Daily report said.

Mainland netizens said the exercises serve as a latest warning to Hong Kong rioters.

This is not the first time a mainland city neighboring Hong Kong has conducted police drills. Another city in South China’s Guangdong Province, Shenzhen, held an exercise featuring 12,000 police officers and equipment including armored cars, helicopters and amphibious vehicles, in August.