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Shooting for
money
By Claire Bigg
MOSCOW - Russia and China launched their
first-ever joint military exercises on Thursday.
Chinese General Liang Guanglie and Russian General
Yurii Baluyevskii launched the exercises at a
meeting at Russia's Pacific Fleet headquarters in
the Far East port of Vladivostok, with both
commanders stressing at a news conference that the
drills weren't intended to be a show of
intimidation.
The two nations in the
coming week will practice coordinating a joint
force that will stage a mock invasion of China's
Shandong peninsula on the Yellow Sea, using air,
sea and land forces to simulate a mission
stabilizing a third country torn by massive ethnic
unrest.
The maneuvers, named Peace Mission
2005, will involve as many as 10,000 soldiers -
mostly Chinese - as well as 140 naval ships and
submarines, Russian Tu-22M long-range bombers, and
Tu-95 strategic bombers.
General Liang
Guanglie, the chief of the Chinese army's general
staff, told a news conference in Vladivostok that
the drill was intended to strengthen the
capability of the two armed forces in jointly
fighting terrorism and extremism. His Russian
counterpart, Colonel General Yurii Baluyevskii,
said the drill would help both countries protect
stability in the region. The former Cold War foes
share a 4,300-kilometer border.
"The main
aim of these exercises is to ensure the training,
to ensure the readiness of the structures in
charge of the subdivisions taking part from the
armed forces of the Russian Federation and the
People's Republic of China, precisely in order to
counter the challenges we face today in the
Asia-Pacific region, and in the world as a whole,"
Baluyevskii said.
The joint exercises,
Baluyevskii added, underlined the growing ties
between Russia and China. "Today, the development
of relations with the People's Republic of China
occupies a key position in the foreign political
relations of our state, our armies and our
peoples," Baluyevskii said.
Both Moscow
and Beijing have been eager to dispel US fears
that the exercises were aimed at creating a
Russian-Chinese military union. The US views with
distrust the strengthening ties between the two
nations, which have developed what they call a
strategic partnership to oppose what they perceive
as US domination in global affairs. Russia and
China are also seeking to check the presence of
the US in Central Asia and to consolidate their
own influence in the volatile region.
Also
on hand for the drill are member-state observers
from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) -
a security group that comprises Russia, China and
four of the five Central Asian states -
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Their presence has further fueled speculation that
the exercises are intended as a message to
Washington to stay away from the region.
Representatives of India, Iran, Mongolia and
Pakistan - SCO observer countries - are also on
the list of guests.
Vessels from Russia's
Pacific Fleet, including a submarine hunter,
destroyer and a landing craft docked at Qingdao on
August 12 to prepare for the exercise, according
to a report on Sinodefense.com, a site that tracks
the People's Liberation Army. Russia began
transferring air force personnel and equipment to
Qingdao on August 10, including 13 IL-76 military
transport planes from the 76th Airborne Division,
Sinodefense.com reported.
The military
drill has also set off worries in the US that
China might be preparing for a possible surprise
strike against Taiwan before other countries can
intervene. Beijing has vowed to attack Taiwan if
the island formally declares its independence.
Ivan Safranchuk, the director of the
Moscow-based Center for Defense Information, said
the military exercises were certainly part of
China and Russia's efforts to show the West they
were solid partners. "From a political point of
view, I would not say this [drill] is taking an
anti-American or anti-Western position,"
Safranchuk said. "But it demonstrates that Russia
and China can be close partners."
Military
experts are also downplaying the practical
military objectives of the drill itself. Many said
it was more of a commercial opportunity for Russia
to showcase its military hardware to China, the
world's top purchaser of Russian armaments and
equipment.
"For the Chinese side, these
exercises are needed to gain experience in the use
of the military technology it is buying from
Russia," Safranchuk said. "For Russia,
accordingly, these exercises are an opportunity to
show China the capabilities of the equipment it is
buying, but also that of the equipment Russia
would like to sell to China in the future."
Beijing might be particularly interested
in acquiring sensitive military equipment and
technologies that Moscow has so far refused to
sell. Experts said the inclusion of Russian
strategic and long-range bombers in the drill is
no coincidence.
Over the past decade,
massive Russian arms sales to China have favored
the development of bilateral cooperation.
According to estimates by the Moscow-based Center
for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies,
Russia has been delivering an annual average of $2
billion worth of arms to China since 2000,
including fighter aircraft, submarines and
destroyers.
(RFE/RL correspondent Antoine
Blua contributed to this report.)
Copyright (c) 2005, RFE/RL Inc.
Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington DC 20036 |
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