Chinese troops in Russia for joint military exercises
The opening ceremony of the Vostok 2022 military exercises at a firing range in Russia's Far Eastern Primorsky region August 31, 2022. via REUTERS - RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY
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Vostok-2022 is the name of these joint maneuvers that must be carried out from this Thursday, September 1 with Russia by the soldiers of several border countries or allies of Moscow such as Belarus, Syria, India and especially China. .
Maneuvers carried out while tensions are high between Western countries and Russia but also China.
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In the United States, it is explained that they give “
no particular interpretation
” to these joint exercises, which were nevertheless carried out in the midst of the war in Ukraine.
China itself, despite its maneuvers in August around the island of
Taiwan
and the tensions that there too followed, asserts that its participation is “
unrelated to the current situation at the regional and international level
”.
What is certain is that the strengthening of Sino-Russian military relations has been going on for years, and that it worries the West - just last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke of a "
partnership strategy that challenges our values and our interests
”.
► To read also:
War in Ukraine: China's increased support for Russia
A large participation
This is the second time this year that China and Russia have conducted joint exercises: last May, they took place near South Korea and Japan, while US President Joe Biden was in Tokyo - Japan reacted by launching its fighter planes.
As for the maneuvers which begin this Thursday in the Russian Far East, Chinese participation could be extensive: the three components, land, naval and air of the People's Army are mobilized, a first for exercises carried out abroad.
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