China joins Russia for major war games

Military drills largest in Moscow’s history

CHITA, Russia — Hundreds of thousands Russian troops swept across Siberia on Tuesday in the nation’s largest ever war games, which was joined by China.

Moscow said the weeklong Vostok (East) 2018 maneuvers will span Siberia and the Far East, along with the Arctic and Pacific oceans, and will involve nearly 300,000 Russian troops.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has described the drills as even bigger than the country’s largest Cold War-era exercise, Zapad 1981.

A retired Russian general said that the giant war games come as a warning to the U.S. against ramping up pressure.

“The maneuvers are aimed at deterring the aggressive intentions of the U.S. and NATO,” Ret. Gen. Leonid Ivashov said. He was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that the drills are “also a response to the U.S. sanctions.”

China is sending about 3,200 troops, 900 combat vehicles and 30 aircraft to join the drills at a Siberian firing range. Mongolia also has sent a military contingent.

Asked if the U.S. is worried about a possible military alliance between Russia and China, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Pentagon reporters Tuesday, “I think that nations act out of their interests. I see little in the long term that aligns Russia and China.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Russia on Tuesday to attend an economic forum in Vladivostok.

Moscow and Beijing have forged what they described as a “strategic partnership,” expressing their shared opposition to perceived U.S. global domination. However, the military drills they had until now were far smaller in scale.

Some experts pointed out that the U.S. helped spawn closer Russia-china military ties by labeling them strategic competitors.

“They feel they need to embrace to deal with the increasingly high pressure and containment from the U.S.,” said Yue Gang, a military expert and retired Chinese army colonel.

The U.S. and its NATO allies are eyeing the exercises for what they reveal about military cooperation between Russia and China.

“We’re obviously aware of it. We’re watching it closely,” said Army Col. Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman.

Russian Defense Ministry Press Service Russian armored personnel carriers roll during military exercises Tuesday in Siberia’s Chita region. Russia’s military chief of staff said the exercises were expected to be the biggest in three decades, involving nearly 300,000 troops.