Ready, set, fire: China and Russia get back to testing each other’s military tactics

String of bilateral and multilateral exercises follows pandemic-induced lull, sending out ‘powerful signal’ about Beijing and Moscow’s ability to work together

Growing acrimony with the US and shared concerns over the destabilisation of central Asia are seen as forces pulling the two militaries closer

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Chinese military personnel will put their skills and weapons to the test in a joint military exercise in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 6:00am, 8 Aug 2021Updated: 7:59pm, 10 Aug 2021

Joint military activities between China and Russia are poised to get back into full swing, according to announcements that observers said also suggest Beijing and Moscow are stepping up efforts to learn from each other in dealing with the US.

More than 10,000 Chinese and Russian troops are expected to join a five-day drill in a combined tactics training base in China’s inland Ningxia Hui autonomous region from Monday, in what Beijing has described as part of deepening pragmatic cooperation between the two militaries.

This would be the first joint drill hosted by China since the pandemic began. While the Chinese defence ministry said the exercise would focus on counterterrorism and security, it would also involve the establishment of a joint command centre as well as training to improve joint reconnaissance, early warnings, electronic and information attacks, and joint strikes.

Later this month, it will be time for the northwestern region of Xinjiang to host three competitions under the Russia-led International Army Games, the Chinese defence ministry announced earlier. The Chinese military is expected to join counterparts from Russia, Belarus, Egypt, Iran, Venezuela and Vietnam in the games to sharpen their skills in combat vehicle operation, portable anti-aircraft missiles launches, and nuclear, biological and chemical reconnaissance.

Next month, China is expected to once again join Russia, this time alongside India, Pakistan and the central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation anti-terror exercise. The SCO “Peace Mission-2021” exercises will take place at the Donguz training ground in southwest Russia’s Orenburg region.

The latest drills come after a period when Beijing and Moscow downgraded joint military activities because of the pandemic, according to Vasily Kashin, a military and China specialist at the Higher School of Economics, a research university in Moscow.

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