XIAMEN - The Chinese mainland and Taiwan have agreed to hold a joint maritime search and rescue exercise every other year, taking turns to be the host, Vice Minister of Transport Xu Zuyuan said Thursday.

Xu made the announcement on Thursday during the ongoing cross-Straits maritime rescue exercise, the second such exercise since both parts launched their first one in 2010.

The exercise aims to meet the mounting safeguard need of maritime emergency rescues after Chinese mainland and Taiwan started direct flights and shipment of commodities in 2008.

The drill, set in the waters between Xiamen and Jinmen on the Taiwan Straits, consists of multiple scenarios, including rescue operations for overturned fishing boats and rescuing people overboard, officials said.

In 2011, the maritime rescue coordinating center of South China's Fujian province, which is on the opposite side of Taiwan across the Taiwan Straits, has rescued 193 ships and saved 1,973 human beings in its 209 maneuvers.

As of the first half of this year, cross-Straits passengers' transportation rose 13.6 percent year on year to hit 840,000 while the volume of cargo and container transportation reached 27 million tons and 840,000 TEUs separately.