Russia (Washington Insider Magazine)-MOSCOW (Transatlantic Today) — In the midst of tensions with the West over the Kremlin’s conduct in Ukraine, Russia said on Monday that it will begin extensive war games training in the nation’s east that will include Chinese troops.
The Vostok 2022 (East 2022) exercise, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, will take place from September 1–7 at a number of sites in Russia’s Far East and the Sea of Japan and feature more than 50,000 soldiers, over 5,000 weapons units, 60 battleships, and 140 aircraft.
According to ABC NEWS, the exercises will take place at seven shooting ranges in far eastern Russia and involve forces from various former Soviet states as well as Nicaragua, Syria, Mongolia, India, China, and Laos.
Along with other forces, the ministry announced that units of Russian Airborne soldiers, military cargo aircraft, and long-range warplanes will participate in the drills.
The Chinese and Russian warships in the Sea of Japan will practice coordinated action as part of the drills to safeguard maritime trade, protected areas, and assistance for ground forces in littoral regions.
Since Russia moved soldiers into Ukraine on February 24, defense connections between Beijing and Moscow have become stronger, as seen by the drills. China has consistently refrained from criticizing Russia’s behavior, blaming NATO and the United States for inciting Moscow, and has denounced the punitive measures put in place against Moscow.
As a result of the conflicts with the United States that followed U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to Taiwan, Russia has firmly backed China. In a speech earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin compared U.S. assistance to Ukraine to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, alleging that both were components of alleged American attempts to create unrest throughout the world.
In recent years, China and Russia have participated in a number of joint military drills, which have included naval exercises and long-range bomber patrols over the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan. Russian forces entered Chinese territory for joint exercises for the first time last year.
Putin has stated that the potential of a military alliance cannot be ruled out, despite Beijing and Moscow’s earlier denials of such a concept. He also mentioned that China has received extremely sensitive military technology from Russia, which has considerably improved China’s defense capabilities.
