Posted on 08/26/2005 2:49:09 AM PDT by Siobhan
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 from the current volume of $60 billion to $80 billion by 2010.
China would also pour $12 billion of investment into Russia's energy sector and infrastructure construction before 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.
ping
INFO ping.
Oddly enough a friend and I were talking about one of his coworker's company trip to China a couple of weeks ago. He was an engineer and did some work there. When it was time to leave, they threw a party/picnic in his honor. The American engineer had to pay for it and it wasn't cheap.
And this from today:
For Russians, Wounds Linger in School Siege
I will never, ever understand the Russians. Ever.
Many years ago folks worried about the day China and Russia became friends. That may be our next war and one we probably won't win.
Friends? Whenever they pat each other on the back, they need to check for a dagger. Russia has huge land areas, lots of natural resources, and a dwindling population. China needs the land and resources, has a growing population, and shares a big (disputed border) with them. Thats not a situation for long term friendship.
On the Moscow News site they said there were only 1,800 Russians in this excercise, mostly Chinese equipment, and the Chinese picked up the tab. Odd that this was not reported elsewhere AFAIK, as to me it makes it look more like a Chinese PR stunt than anything else.
Pass the Pork Fried Rice and General Tso's chicken please. </sarcasm>
ping
"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."
Can we send them Jimmy Buffet?
"they threw a party/picnic in his honor. The American engineer had to pay for it and it wasn't cheap."
There's a great lesson in that (remember the next time an unwanted house guest arrives!)
LOL!!!
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