Russia and China to Hold Joint Maneuvers

[G_j]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4695831,00.html

Russia and China to Hold Joint Maneuvers

Monday December 27, 2004 11:31 AM


MOSCOW (AP) - Russia and China are set to hold unprecedented joint military maneuvers on Chinese territory next year involving both nations' air forces and navies, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in the Kremlin on Monday.

Ivanov, speaking at a Cabinet session chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said that the exercise would involve submarines and possibly even strategic bombers, the Interfax and ITAR-Tass news agencies reported.

``For the first time in history, we have agreed to hold a quite large military exercise together with China on the Chinese territory in the second half of the year,'' Ivanov said, according to ITAR-Tass.

``The Russian side will bring not big numbers of servicemen, but mostly state-of-the art weapons - navy, air, long-range aviation, submarines to practice interaction with China in different forms of military maneuvers.''

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