Chinese troops in Russia for joint military exercises

Chinese troops will travel to Russia for a round of joint military exercises with Russia and other allied countries, including India, Belarus and Tajikistan.

This was announced by the Beijing Ministry of Defense, stating that the Chinese presence "is not related to the current international and regional situation".

The military operations, reports Beijing, are part of a collaboration agreement that aims to " deepen practical and friendly cooperation with the armies of the participating countries , improve the level of strategic collaboration between the parties and strengthen the response capacity to various security threats ”.

An announcement that comes after days of growing tensions between China and the United States due to a visit to Taiwan first by the speaker of the US House Nancy Pelosi, then by a delegation of parliamentarians from Washington.

Beijing reacted with anger to the move considered an assist to the independence forces of Taipei, considered an "inalienable" part of China to be reunified even by force, if necessary. For a week, the People's Liberation Army organized unprecedented maneuvers around the island, testing an air-naval blockade and also launching ballistic missiles.

Beijing also thanked Putin for the support he received on Taiwan. The Russian president said yesterday that Pelosi's visit was a " well-planned provocation ". Putin's judgments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, "are a manifestation of high-level strategic cooperation between China and Russia and consistent and firm mutual support on issues that affect each other's fundamental interests."

The joint military exercises will take place in Russia's Eastern Military District, which includes part of Siberia and has its headquarters in Khabarovsk , near the Chinese border. The latest maneuvers of this kind took place in 2018, when the People's Liberation Army took part for the first time, as part of an annual bilateral cooperation agreement with Moscow that is fully operational.

(Unioneonline / L)