? A Chinese soldier trains a dog at a military base in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu province January 28, 2006. Picture taken on January 28, 2006. [Photo/Asianewsphoto]

BEIJING - More than 10,000 military working dogs (MWDs) are currently serving in the Chinese armed forces, working on missions like peacekeeping, post-disaster search and rescue, and border patrol, according to an army official.

These dogs are currently serving in more than 5,000 army divisions, said Wang Han, an official with the Beijing-based war dog breeding and training center, at a seminar on Friday.

Founded in 1950, China's MWD project was halted in the 1960s during the "cultural revolution" (1966-1976) and resumed in 1991.

"In the past five years, our military working dogs have helped solve hundreds of cases. They have been playing a key role in the army that could not be replaced by modern technology or human efforts," said Wang.

According to Wang, the country trains hundreds of war dogs each year for patrol, scout, sentry as well as drug and explosives detection work. The MWD come from ten breeds such as China's Kunming dog, German and Belgian shepherd, Labrador retrievers.