WEB DESK
Russia and China have begun joint military drills in the Russian Far East. The Vostok military exercises are held every 4 years. Russia’s Defense Ministry says the 2018 drill, which kicked off in Siberia on Tuesday, is the largest since the fall of the Soviet Union. It involves 300,000 soldiers, 36,000 tanks and other vehicles, some 1,000 aircraft and 80 vessels.
The online edition of the PLA Daily, the Chinese military’s newspaper, says about 3,200 army and air force personnel and more than 1,000 armed vehicles are taking part in the exercise. It adds that their participation shows that bilateral military cooperation has reached a new level.
China and Russia have been showcasing their military partnership, in addition to political and economic ties. The joint drills are to be held for 5 days through Saturday. Full-scale training involving troop movement is set to begin on Thursday.
Codenamed “Vostok-2018”, the drills are said to be the largest military exercises since the “Zapad-1981”, which was held in 1981 by the Soviet Union and involved about 100,000 to 150,000 troops.About 3,200 troops, along with over 1,000 pieces of weaponry and 30 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s Northern Theater Command, are scheduled to conduct combat training together with the Russian troops from Tuesday to Thursday.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier that the drills involve nearly 300,000 Russian troops, about 36,000 military vehicles, more than 1,000 aircraft and around 80 ships.