“[Our] approach towards high-intensity crackdowns has to remain unwavering,” Ma was quoted as saying by Xinjiang Daily, an official newspaper.
“[We] have to eliminate all terrorist threats at the initial stage, and push forward with normalising counterterrorism work.”
Ma also called for stronger border security and a “society-wide” ability to control risks. Eliminating political, economic and ideological “risks” were important to ensure the prevention of “structural risks”, he said.
The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is home to nearly 26 million people, more than half of them from ethnic minority groups, including the mainly Muslim Uygurs and Kazakhs.
China’s years-long crackdown on extremism among Uygurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang has sparked allegations of human rights abuses and sanctions from the United States and other countries.
Beijing denies accusations of repression and has hailed its policies in managing ethnic conflicts, combating terrorism and relieving poverty as successful. However, it has continued to step up security measures as part of a campaign to normalise counterterror work.
Helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as armoured and assault tanks were used in the exercise, according to state media.
During the drills, personnel practised arresting targeted terrorists, preventing the return and infiltration of terrorists, and combating terrorism in high-altitude regions, footage broadcast by Xinjiang Television showed.
In 2016, Beijing imposed security measures in Xinjiang that it said aimed to crack down on terror attacks following decades of ethnic tensions and unrest. But the measures led to allegations of widespread human rights abuses, including that at least 1 million Uygurs and other Muslim minorities were held in mass internment camps.
Beijing maintains the centres are for “vocational training”.
The Xinjiang government has in recent years focused on promoting economic development, especially trade links with its neighbouring Central Asian countries, and also sought to improve its international image.