“China and Russia to Conduct First Joint Military Drill in August”

China and Russia will conduct their first joint military drill in August.

The Hong Kong newspaper reported on February 1 that the Russian delegation, led by Vladimir Bulgakov, deputy commander in chief, visited China on January 31 to discuss the joint military drill named “Cooperation 2005.”

In the joint drill, China and Russia’ militaries will practice unit training at the Heilung River in China, after establishing an operational strategy in Russia.

They will also execute tactical training inside and outside the two countries, China-Russia joint operation, and joint training for terrorism.

Especially, Russia’s Tu-22M3 (backfire) medium-distance fighter-bomber, Tu-160 (blackjack) capable of transcontinental bombing, and Tu-95 long-distance fighter-bomber will take part in this joint drill.

If the Chinese military possess these bombers, it will drastically strengthen the Chinese air power and impose a big threat on U.S. military units stationed in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and other parts of the Asia region.

The Hong Kong newspaper said that Russia hasn’t sold these bombers to China on the grounds of the negative effects to the country’s security. However, the European Union (E.U.)’ recent movement to lift the arms embargo on China has made Russia rush to sell weapons in order to prevail over the E.U. in the Chinese weapons market.

Yoo-Seong Hwang yshwang@donga.com