China sent troops to Belarus for the first time on Monday for an exercise called “Eagle Assault” that simulated the capture of an airport near the Polish border.
According to Voice of America News (VOA), the joint air and ground exercises “are seen by experts as a response to NATO’s growing interest in the Asia-Pacific region and a sign of China’s continuing expansion into Europe.” put it.
The timing of this “anti-terrorism exercise” was obvious. NATO leaders issued statement He expressed “deep concern” about the strengthening alliance between China and Russia.
Belarus, already firmly located in Russia’s sphere of influence, is fostering closer ties with China. Joint The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), promoted by Beijing and Moscow as an Eastern-led security alternative to NATO. Belarus became On July 4, it became the first nominal European member state of the SCO.
China’s Defense Ministry on Thursday released a positive report on the week-long Eagle Assault exercise, which began on Monday, saying Chinese and Belarusian troops demonstrated “superior techniques and tactics, solid training levels and strong fighting spirit.”
China praised the “seamless coordination” and “high level of trust” between Chinese and Belarusian militaries during the exercises.
China’s state-run Global Times On Thursday report The conclusion of a joint Chinese-Russian live-fire naval exercise off the coast of southern China.
The six-day drill was billed as training to tackle “maritime security threats,” particularly those posed by high-speed anti-ship missiles. Both Chinese and Russian vessels were reportedly able to intercept mock incoming missiles.
The seven participating warships also set aside time for “friendly interaction, including tai chi practice, sports competitions and welcome parties on deck.”
of Global Times He cynically dismissed Western concerns that Chinese-Russian naval cooperation was a cause for concern given China’s territorial aggression in the South China Sea.
“Chinese experts denied such claims, saying joint maritime exercises have been conducted multiple times since 2012 in various waters near China and Russia, and that the exercises, although combat-oriented, do not target third parties,” the report said. Global Times They argued, as if live-fire training could only instil alarmism if the shooter loudly declared which enemy he was pretending to shoot before pulling the trigger.
“Unlike the United States, which seeks to maintain its global military hegemony, China-Russia military cooperation provides a stabilizing factor in a deteriorating global and regional security environment, analysts said,” an angrily reported in a Communist Party newspaper.
With China now using force to drive the Philippines out of its territorial waters, and Russia two years into its brutal invasion of Ukraine, “stability” is not a word any rational analyst would use in either country. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is certainly A presence that gives a sense of security The same is true on the world stage.
China conducted one Eagle Assault exercise in 2018, but the 2024 exercise will be much larger and clearly focused on teaching Chinese forces how to fight on European soil.
China has a long history of using military exercises to express its anger over international developments, nowhere more evident than in its military drills. Continue to hold Ground drills with Belarus and naval exercises with Russia around Taiwan are ways for China to show it cares nothing about NATO complaints about its growing territorial aggression and inexcusable support for Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
“At a broader level, an axis is taking shape where China and Russia are creating a space where countries like Iran, Belarus and North Korea can have a voice.” of Diplomat was suggested on wednesday.
Defense 24 thought Beijing enjoyed giving NATO a new headache by training with Lukashenko’s forces, sending a symbolic message that China is ready to create trouble “on NATO’s strategic east” if NATO “invades the sphere of operation of China’s strategic interests.”
