Russia announced on Monday that it will carry out military exercises together with China in the east of the country, a sign of the closeness between the two countries amid global tensions over Russian military action in Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced that the Vostok 2022 (East 2022) exercise will take place between September 1 and 7 in the Far East and the Sea of Japan with more than 50,000 soldiers and more than 5,000 war equipment, including 140 aircraft and 60 ships.
The exercises will take place at seven firing ranges in Russia’s remote east and will include troops from former Soviet republics as well as China, India, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua and Syria.
Airborne forces, long-range bombers and military cargo planes will also participate, the ministry said.
When it first announced the exercise last month, Russia emphasized that it is part of ongoing military training despite military action in Ukraine. The Russian government has not disclosed how many troops it is using in Ukraine.
The ministry stressed that, as part of the exercises, the naval forces of Russia and China in the Sea of Japan “will carry out joint actions to protect naval communications, areas of economic activity and infantry troops on the coast.”
The maneuvers reflect the growing defense ties between Moscow and Beijing, which have grown stronger since Russia began its military action in Ukraine on February 24. China has been careful not to criticize Russian military action, has blamed the United States and NATO for provoking Moscow, and has lambasted international sanctions imposed on Russia.
Russia, for its part, has emphatically supported China in the tensions surrounding the visit to Taiwan of the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. A few days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced that US support for Ukraine and Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan are part of a US campaign to promote global instability.