China toasts war games with Russia with a picnic

BEIJING (Reuters) – China praised its first joint military
exercises with Russia on Friday for lifting relations to an
all-time high and opening room for further cooperation.

Eight days of drills involving more than 10,000 troops from
the former Cold War foes’ armies, navies and air forces
concluded on Thursday with a practice air and ground assault in
China’s eastern Shandong province.

The last event on the schedule was an outside “family-style
lunch” of noodles, braised eggplant and fried fish washed down
with beer as tank engines roared in the background, Xinhua news
agency said.

“Through the exercises, the two armed forces… improved
their capabilities to meet new challenges and threats and to
fight international terrorism, extremism and separatism,”
Xinhua quoted Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan as saying.

“China and Russia have reached an unprecedented height in
their strategic partnership,” it said in a commentary.

The same day the drills ended, the prime minister of the
Ingushetia republic in southern Russia was injured in an
assassination attempt. A bodyguard was killed in the bombing
near the border with Chechnya, where separatists have fought
Russian rule for a decade.

Ties between Beijing and Moscow have grown closer in recent
years around points of common ground that include concern about
instability in Central Asia. Both countries want to keep
political turmoil in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan from spilling
over their borders and to check the U.S. presence in the
region.

The two countries, which share a 4,300-km (2,700-mile)
frontier, are also players in six-party talks on North Korea’s
nuclear crisis, reflecting shared security interests.

China has been looking to Russia for energy resources to
feed its booming economy, while Moscow is keen to boost sales
to Beijing of military hardware like the advanced bombers and
fighter jets showcased during the war games.

The state-run People’s Daily said on Friday the two
countries would increase military trade to a volume of $60-$80
billion by 2010.

China would also pour $12 billion of investment into
Russia’s energy sector and infrastructure construction before
2020, the newspaper, a mouthpiece for the ruling Communist
Party, said.

“The war games also made clear that China is willing to
cooperate with other countries militarily and is serious about
learning from its peers as it modernizes its armed forces,”
Xinhua said.

“More moves to deepen China’s military communication with
other countries can be expected.”

The exercises kicked off on August 18 with consultations
and battle planning on Russia’s Pacific coast near Vladivostok
and moved to China’s Shandong peninsula for live-fire drills
including a joint offshore blockade and amphibious landing.

Xinhua quoted Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov as
saying Russia and China may hold more joint military exercises
in the future.