Despite their shared communist histories, long time antagonists China and Russia are about to launch their first-ever coordinated military exercise. And it certainly is a doozie, as are its ramifications.<\/p>\n
China, Russia join forces for war games<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n When China and Russia launch their first joint military exercise tomorrow, their neighbours will be wondering why long-range strategic bombers and amphibious landing craft are being deployed in what is supposed to be an anti-terrorism drill.<\/p>\n The two countries are calling it Peace Mission 2005, but it looks more like a rehearsal for full-scale war. The 10,000 Russian and Chinese soldiers will be practising a variety of standard combat techniques: long-range bombing runs, cruise-missile attacks, a naval assault on a coastal beachhead and a parachute landing by paratroopers.<\/p>\n It’s the first time the two nations have conducted a joint military exercise, and their neighbours — including the United States, Japan and Taiwan — will be watching with some trepidation. There are growing concerns that Beijing and Moscow are forging a military alliance that could shift the global balance of power in an unpredictable new direction.<\/p>\n According to the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, the joint exercise “will help strengthen the capability of the two armed forces in jointly striking international terrorism, extremism and separatism.” But with its strategic bombers and submarines, the exercise seems to go far beyond the needs of a mere anti-terrorism action.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Terrorism is not the target of strategic bombers, not yet anyway. Nor is it the target of submarines and amphibious landings. The same goes for extremism. That leaves separatism, read Tiawan.<\/p>\n Chinese war games leave US unfazed<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The Bush administration has described a planned joint Chinese-Russian military exercise in the Yellow Sea north of Taiwan as one that could advance the “mutual goal of regional stability” in East Asia, despite some reports that paint the exercise as being eerily similar to a rehearsal for a joint invasion of Taiwan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Trust me, these exercises are most assuredly not being viewed in terms of their value towards regional stability.<\/p>\n The Chinese ambitions on Taiwan are obvious and its build-up is transparent<\/a>. The values of this exercise toward their ambitions are clear: bombers hoping to threaten the American assets, subs meant to hold off the U.S. Navy, and amphibious and airborne troops training to seize Taiwan.<\/p>\n What dogs do the Russians have in this hunt? Simply a paying customer. That, and a possibly effective dog-and-pony show.<\/p>\n