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| China and Russia Joint Military Exercises Themed Vostok 2022 |
Beijing - Chinese troops will be one of the foreign participants in a multilateral military exercise in Russia called Vostok 2022, the Chinese Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday (17/8/2022).
The Chinese People's Liberation Army will send personnel to Russia. "The event is to deepen pragmatic and friendly cooperation with the militaries of participating countries, increase the level of strategic coordination between the parties, and enhance the ability to deal with various security threats," the statement said.
Beijing noted that current regional and international tensions did not influence its decision. Vostok 2022 will take place at 13 locations in eastern Russia between August 30 and September 5, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced in late July. It said foreign militaries were invited, but did not mention which countries were involved.
The Chinese statement named Belarus, India, Mongolia and Tajikistan among the guests at the exercise. Moscow conducts strategic exercises of this kind once a year, with one of Russia's five military districts selected to host.
In 2021, the Zapad maneuver is held in the west of the country, together with Russia's ally Belarus. While in 2020, the Kavkaz exercise takes place in the south, with countries such as Armenia, Iran and Pakistan participating.
The last exercise in the eastern military district took place in September 2018. Chinese and Mongolian troops were involved in the Russian maneuvers at the time. China and Russia's military closeness is increasingly worrying Western countries that are at odds with Moscow.