Chinese and Russian commanders began the practical phase yesterday of their first-ever joint military exercises, coordinating the creation of a combined unit that will stage a landing on a Chinese peninsula to practice stabilizing a fictional country.
The chiefs of staff from both countries' militaries departed early yesterday from Vladivostok back to their capitals after inaugurating the drills Thursday, a spokesman at Russia's Pacific Fleet command said on condition of anonymity because he wasn't allowed to speak on the record.
The exercises began Thursday with a day of consultations between the two countries in Vladivostok before the war games moved Friday into the "practical phase," the Russian spokesman said.
The exercises running through next Thursday, named "Peace Mission 2005," will climax with amphibious and paratrooper landings and an aerial blockade at the Shandong peninsula on the Yellow Sea. Some 10,000 troops, mostly Chinese and about 1,800 Russians, are taking part.
The Russian daily Kommersant reported Thursday that the prime goal for Russia in the exercises was to show off its high-tech weaponry to a potential big customer. The entire cost of the wargames was being met by China, party so that it might see the Russian weapons in action and partly to send a message both to Taiwan and Washington about the disposition of power in the Far East.
As the drills began, the top generals from China and Russia sought to reassure the region that the exercises weren't directed against anyone. Under the fictional scenario for the exercises, the forces have been given a UN mandate to stabilize a country plunged into violence by ethnic strife.
The exercises "are being run under the goals and principles of the UN, and are not directed against a third country and don't concern the interests of other countries," Chinese General Liang Guanglie told journalists Thursday.
The war games are the result of strengthening ties between Russia and China over shared concern about US dominance of world affairs. US officials have said they hope the exercises help support a shared interest in regional stability.
Russia is also seeking to sell more arms to China, one of its leading customers, including long-range strategic bombers able to carry nuclear weapons that are being showcased during the exercises.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a