The first batch of the 5th Chinese Peacekeeping Military Utility Helicopter Unit to the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) arrived in north China's Tianjin on Thursday after successfully completing a 12-month-long peacekeeping mission.
The unit mainly consists of troops from a brigade of the 81st Group Army under the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Central Theater Command and was deployed to Abyei, a territory contested by Sudan and South Sudan, in January 2025.
Throughout the year, the team carried out a wide range of missions, including troop transportation and withdrawal, passenger and cargo transport, aerial patrols, battlefield search-and-rescue, aerial resupply drops, and medical evacuation. The unit logged over 2,600 flight hours and flew nearly 500,000 kilometers in total.
The unit also engaged in humanitarian activities in the region, visiting local schools and hospitals and providing free medical services to over 200 local residents and UN employees, earning widespread trust and praise from the local community.
The unit was awarded the United Nations (UN) Peace Medals, a significant award established by the UN to recognize outstanding contributions to global peace, and represents the highest honor bestowed upon peacekeepers.
The second batch of the unit is scheduled to return to China in mid-January.
5th Chinese peacekeeping military utility helicopter unit returns from Abyei in northern Africa
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on the organization's member states to respect international law in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's latest remarks that he doesn't need international law.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, said at a press conference on Friday that the UN chief's reaction to Trump's remarks "is to redouble his message to all member states to respect the international law they themselves created".
In an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, Trump declared that his global power is constrained only by his "own morality", saying it's the only thing that can stop him.
When asked whether his administration needs to abide by international law, Trump said he would be the arbiter when such constraints applied to the United States.
"It depends what your definition of international law is," he said.
The New York Times report said Trump's assessment of his own freedom to use any instrument of military, economic or political power to cement American supremacy was the most blunt acknowledgment yet of his worldview. At its core is the concept that national strength, rather than laws, treaties and conventions, should be the deciding factor as powers collide.
The United States launched a large-scale military operation against Venezuela in the early hours of Jan 3, taking by force Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
Maduro made his first court appearance on Jan 5 in New York, during which he pleaded not guilty to all U.S. charges.
Amid tensions with Venezuela, Trump has claimed the United States absolutely needs Greenland, saying he might try "hard ways" to take over the island, which has a strategically critical position and rich resources.
The latest U.S. moves have drawn worldwide condemnation for its violation of Venezuela's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and international law.
UN chief calls for respect for international law in response to Trump’s remarks
