Military drill aims to deepen mutual trust
By Sun Shangwu (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-08-03 05:43

Nearly 10,000 Chinese and Russian troops will take part in joint military exercise from August 18 to 25, the Chinese Ministry of National Defence announced yesterday.

The exercise dubbed "Peace Mission 2005" will take place around Russia's Vladivostock and East China's Shandong Peninsula. Land forces, navy, air force, airborne troops, marine corps and logistics troops from the two armies will take part in the exercise in the far eastern region of Russia as well as the peninsula's offshore seawaters.

The Chinese ministry said the joint military manoeuvre does not target any party.

The Xinhua News Agency yesterday quoted a high-ranking Russian officer as saying that Russian troops will number 1,800.

Russia's hardware will include large anti-submarine vessels, a large landing ship, a destroyer and 17 long-distance military transporter planes and fighter jets.

Its troops will be a company of the marine corps of the Pacific Fleet and a company of the 76th Airborne Division, according to Xinhua.

The defence ministries of the two countries signed a memorandum in July 2004 to hold a joint military exercise.

The chiefs of the general staffs of the two armed forces will announce the beginning of the drill on August 18 in Vladivostok.