Russia, China start war games
Alexander Redchenko
Dec 23, 2010 15:10 Moscow Time
In the last few years, Russia and China have been strengthening cooperation between their armies. 2011 will see joint Russo-Chinese maneuvers in the Sea of Japan.
So, what is the point of these war games?
The maneuvers are not a rehearsal of a landing in Taiwan, as some political analysts suppose. Nor are they meant to create a Russo-Chinese military bloc as an alternative to the military union between the US, Japan and South Korea. In fact, the reason behind these war games is simple like many countries today, Russia and China are facing the threat of international terrorism. This was stressed by a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Mrs. Jiang Yu, who explained that the main aim of these maneuvers is to strengthen the two armies capability to withstand the evil of terrorism. These joint war games are by no means aimed against any third country, she said. The only purpose is to strengthen stability in Asia and in the whole world.
The unstable situation in the Xinjiang Uygur region in China and in Russias northern Caucasus points to the fact that the armies of both Russia and China must be strong and mobile enough to react to terrorist challenges. Chinese politicians say that the three main evils of today are terrorism, extremism and separatism.
To fight with these three evils, we need cooperation and exchange of experience, the head of Russians Armed Forces General Staff Nikolay Makarov says.Today, we have to face well-organized international terrorist organizations. The worlds nations can defeat terrorism only by joining their efforts.
However, there are other reasons for joint Russo-Chinese war games as well. Today, practically all Asian nations are strengthening their armies. India, Japan and both Koreas are actively modernizing their arms. Taiwan, strongly backed by the US, is developing its army and navy. The last month saw joint US-Japanese and US-South Korean maneuvers. Moreover, South Korea keeps firing at its northern neighbor. In a recent armed incident between the two Koreas, several people were killed.
Of course, every country has the right to defend its national interests. On the other hand, nobody is protected from a temptation to interpret his interests a bit too broadly. At a certain point, the arms race in Asia may begin to threaten peace in this region. Maybe, it would be logical to create a collective system of security here, like has already been done in Europe?
Russia, China start war games: Voice of Russia
Alexander Redchenko
Dec 23, 2010 15:10 Moscow Time
In the last few years, Russia and China have been strengthening cooperation between their armies. 2011 will see joint Russo-Chinese maneuvers in the Sea of Japan.
So, what is the point of these war games?
The maneuvers are not a rehearsal of a landing in Taiwan, as some political analysts suppose. Nor are they meant to create a Russo-Chinese military bloc as an alternative to the military union between the US, Japan and South Korea. In fact, the reason behind these war games is simple like many countries today, Russia and China are facing the threat of international terrorism. This was stressed by a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Mrs. Jiang Yu, who explained that the main aim of these maneuvers is to strengthen the two armies capability to withstand the evil of terrorism. These joint war games are by no means aimed against any third country, she said. The only purpose is to strengthen stability in Asia and in the whole world.
The unstable situation in the Xinjiang Uygur region in China and in Russias northern Caucasus points to the fact that the armies of both Russia and China must be strong and mobile enough to react to terrorist challenges. Chinese politicians say that the three main evils of today are terrorism, extremism and separatism.
To fight with these three evils, we need cooperation and exchange of experience, the head of Russians Armed Forces General Staff Nikolay Makarov says.Today, we have to face well-organized international terrorist organizations. The worlds nations can defeat terrorism only by joining their efforts.
However, there are other reasons for joint Russo-Chinese war games as well. Today, practically all Asian nations are strengthening their armies. India, Japan and both Koreas are actively modernizing their arms. Taiwan, strongly backed by the US, is developing its army and navy. The last month saw joint US-Japanese and US-South Korean maneuvers. Moreover, South Korea keeps firing at its northern neighbor. In a recent armed incident between the two Koreas, several people were killed.
Of course, every country has the right to defend its national interests. On the other hand, nobody is protected from a temptation to interpret his interests a bit too broadly. At a certain point, the arms race in Asia may begin to threaten peace in this region. Maybe, it would be logical to create a collective system of security here, like has already been done in Europe?
Russia, China start war games: Voice of Russia
