China's People's Liberation Army has promised to help its soldiers find love after a new rule banned troops from internet dating.
Members of the 2.3 million-strong Chinese army stationed in remote posts have relied on the internet for romance in recent years.
But the PLA is worried that lonely hearts might let sensitive information slip, and has now banned online dating, reports the Daily Telegraph.
"Soldiers stationed on frontiers, for example in Tibet, have few opportunities to make contact with the outside world," said Yang Jigui, an officer at the Xigaze base in Tibet.
"But people with ulterior motives may make use of the soldiers' personal information and pose a threat to the safety of the army," he added.
The base has already held a meeting to discuss how to find partners for its unmarried men through the local branch of the All China Women's Federation, an NGO to support women.
On the island of Hainan, a paramilitary police officer has already organised a party for older cadres to meet women working at a local branch of China Mobile, the mobile phone company.
The new regulation, which came into force earlier this month, also bans soldiers from writing blogs or diaries online and from using Chinese social networking sites to make friends.
"The internet is complicated and we should guard against online traps," said Wan Long, the political commissar of a regiment in Guangzhou.
He added that it was too easy for ill-intentioned parties to use the information on the web to identify specific army units and their location.
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