Chinese Troops Joining War Games In Russia
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BEIJING/MOSCOW (Worthy News) – Chinese troops will be in Russia to join military exercises led by the host along with India, Belarus, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and other anti-western countries, China’s defense ministry says.
The war games are to “enhance strategic collaboration,” officials explained. They come at a time of heightened global tensions over Taiwan and Ukraine.
Yet, China’s participation in the military exercises was “unrelated to the current international and regional situation,” the defense ministry claimed.
China stressed that participating in the exercises was part of an ongoing bilateral annual cooperation agreement with Russia.
“The aim is to deepen practical and friendly cooperation with the armies of participating countries, enhance the level of strategic collaboration among the participating parties, and strengthen the ability to respond to various security threats,” the defense ministry said.
Under Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Beijing and Moscow have grown increasingly close.
EAST EXERCISES
Last month, Moscow announced plans to hold “Vostok” (East) exercises from August 30 to September 5, despite its costly invasion of Ukraine with tens of thousands of casualties.
A year ago this month, Russia and China reportedly held joint military exercises in north-central China involving more than 10,000 troops.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu praised the Sibu/Cooperation-2021 drills in China’s Ningxia region and suggested they could be developed further.
However, their military cooperation has raised the alarm in the West, where government leaders say they fear growing military aggression from the East.
The planned exercises also added to tensions in Asia, where Taiwan is staging war games to show its ability to resist Chinese pressure to accept Beijing´s control over the self-governing island.
The exercises began Wednesday and follow days of Chinese missile firings and incursions into Taiwan’s sea and airspace by ships and planes of China’s military.
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