Chinese and Russian armed forces on Wednesday began a five-day joint military drill, aimed at training their troops' capability in fighting against terrorism.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
KHABAROVSK, Russia, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Russian troops on Wednesday began a five-day joint military drill aimed at boosting their ability to fight terrorism.
Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China, and Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, announced the beginning of the exercises, dubbed "Peace Mission-2009," at 11:40 a.m. (0040 GMT) in Russia's far eastern city of Khabarovsk.
Up to 1,300 army and air force personnel from each side will participate in the drill, scheduled to run from July 22-26 in Khabarovsk and the PLA's Taonan tactical training base, which borders Russia's Far Eastern region to the north.
Under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the exercise falls on the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Russia.
Chinese and Russian armed forces on Wednesday began a five-day joint military drill, aimed at training their troops' capability in fighting against terrorism.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Before the exercises began, the two military leaders held talks on international and regional security, deepening pragmatic cooperation between the two countries' defense establishments and jointly fighting terrorism.
In recent years, ties between the two armies have shown sound and high-level development marked by frequent exchanges of high-level visits, and effective communications at various levels.
Leaders of the two countries have attached great importance to the joint exercises, which also are being closely followed by the international community, Chen said.
China thinks the exercises will be conducive to furthering its strategic cooperative partnership with Russia, Chen said. The exercise also will enhance mutual confidence in defense security and showcase the pragmatic cooperation between the two armies, Chen said.
In addition, he said, the exercises also will help raise the cooperation level of the two armies in military training, increase their capacity for jointly tackling new threats and have a far-reaching impact on maintaining regional stability and promoting the peaceful development of the world.
Makarov said that the overall security situation of the world and the region is stable but factors of instability still exist. He said transnational crimes such as terrorism and arms smuggling are still rampant and affect international and regional stability.
Those factors necessitate enhanced cooperation amongst various countries and the joint tackling of unconventional security threats, including terrorism, he said.
Military observers from the other four SCO member states -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- and the SCO secretariat, are observing the exercises.
BEIJING, July 22 (Xinhua) -- A joint military exercise launched by Chinese and Russian armed forces Wednesday is a strong warning and deterrence to terrorists in the region, military researchers said.
General of the Army Nikolai Makarov, Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and General Chen Bingde, Chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), announced the commencement of the five-day "Peace Mission-2009" exercise in Russia's Khabarovsk.
"The exercise's orientation, arrangements and preparations have all revealed its anti-terror nature," said Major General Luo Yuan, researcher with the PLA's Military Sciences Academy. Full story
SHENYANG, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and Russian armed forces participating in the upcoming joint anti-terror military exercise have rendezvoused at the exercise venue in northeast China's Jilin Province.
About 1,300 troops from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and 1,300 Russian troops are preparing for the five-day exercise, code-named "Peace Mission-2009" scheduled from July 22. Full story
TAONAN, Jilin Province, July 9 (Xinhua) -- An advance unit of Russia's armed forces arrived at a military base in northeast China's Jilin Province Thursday to prepare for a joint exercise with the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Full story
