China, Russia to hold missile defence drills, amid opposition to US plans to deploy missile shield in South Korea
Moscow and Beijing say exercises not focused on a third party, but analysts believe the drills are clearly aimed at deterring the US deployment of the missile system
China and Russia will hold their first computer-simulated missile defence exercises this month.
Analysts said the move was a response to US proposals to deploy an anti-missile shield on the Korean peninsula, which China and Russia strongly oppose.
Beijing and Moscow say the plans to set up the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, or THAAD, in South Korea pose a threat to their security.
The decision to hold the missile defence exercises in Russia was announced by both nations’ defence ministries.
The drills would use “the combined operations of Russian and Chinese air and missile defence task forces” to provide protection “from sudden or provocative ballistic or cruise missile attacks”, the Russian ministry said.
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China and Russia said the drills did not target a third party, but analysts said they were clearly aimed at deterring the United States from deploying the missile system in South Korea.
The US says it is still discussing the deployment with South Korea and that it is responding to growing concerns about North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
But Yue Gang, a military commentator and retired PLA colonel, said: “THAAD is a common threat to both China and Russia. This joint exercise will serve as a warning to the US and also mark the beginning of the two countries’ military cooperation following their diplomatic consensus [over the missile system].”
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He said the two nations’ combined military strength would enable them to defend each other in the event of a missile attack.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, last week said the missile system posed a direct threat to the strategic security of China and Russia.
Song Zhongping, a Beijing-based analyst, said: “For China, the air force and the Strategic Support Force may join the exercise due to their focus on aerospace and defensive strategy.”
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The Strategic Support Force, formed in December as part of military reforms, is at the core of China’s information and cyberwarfare forces, and also covers aerospace reconnaissance.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday that the countries would increase joint military drills this year, conducting ground and naval exercises.
Shoigu’s Chinese counterpart, Chang Wanquan, said both nations faced a “more complicated situation” in international security that required them to cooperate more fully.
