WW3 fears as China & Russia join forces for massive war games in chilling message to the West
It comes as growing tensions with the US and joint concern regarding the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan have further united the two nations.
An estimated 13,000 troops from the Peopleβs Liberation Army and the Russian Army took part in the combat exercises in northwestern China.
The military drills reflect the increasingly closer ties between Beijing and Moscow and are a defiant bid to prove their alliance to Western forces.
Russian media have stressed the aim is specifically to counteract “mounting pressure” from the West, just one week after thousands of Marines and sailors took part in the US Navy’s largest war game in 40 years.
The drill, aiming to prove America’s “readiness” for potential global conflict, marks a return to similar Cold War exercises that were seen during the 1980s.
Itβs thought that 36 ships and more than 50 virtual units took part in the mission alongside military and civilians, according to the Defense Post.
Beijing had previously staged drills off the coast of Taiwan, in what is widely seen as a dress rehearsal for an invasion, despite Washington’s interventions.
Now seemingly in retaliation, Russian forces were observed firing shots from Chinese wheeled tanks and armoured vehicles.
“Russian servicemen hit most of the targets” despite their lack of experience with the Chinese military equipment, TV Zvezda – a network owned by the Moscow defence ministry – boasted.
The war games, involving both ground troops and air forces, are set to continue until Friday in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which is rich in different terrain.
The region borders Xinjiang, which shares a narrow frontier with Afghanistan – raising concerns in Beijing that the Taliban’s “terrorism” could spill over into their territory.
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WW3 fears as China and Russia join forces for massive war games with 10,000 troops in chilling message to the West
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