China-Russia Launch Joint Training Exercise

The first China-Russia joint military exercises began on August 18. The exercises will involve elite army, navy and air force units of both countries as well as state of the art weapons, and will take place until August 25 in three stages: Vladivostok, Russia, Shandong Province, China, and the West Sea. The exercises are officially a part of an anti-terrorism effort, but some interpret the training as a preparation for a possible emergency situation on the Korean peninsula. General Liang Guanglie (left), chief of the general staff of the Chinese People`s Liberation Army, and General Yuri Baluyevsky (right), head of the Russian armed forces general staff, salute a memorial monument before beginning the exercises.