After 30 Years, Russia to Hold Drills with China

April 28, 2002

TAIPEI - China and Russia are planning to hold joint military exercises for the first time in more than 30 years, a report said yesterday.

The drills, which will take place sometime in August, will involve all three branches of the armed forces from both countries, according to a report on Taiwan's ETtoday.com website.

War games involving the Chinese and Russian armies will take place in north-eastern China, while their navies and air forces will conduct drills in the Yellow Sea.

The report said it showed that Sino-Russian military interaction, previously limited to arms purchases and mutual expressions of support on international issues, has since progressed to strategic cooperation.

Military exchanges between China and the former Soviet Union were suspended for more than three decades after ties soured in the 1960s due to ideological differences.

Separately, in Moscow, Russian Premier Mikhail Kasyanov told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan that high-level contacts between the two countries had been 'very frequent' and that these contacts would culminate with the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to China later this year for talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

Mr Kasyanov said an upcoming meeting between the Russian and Chinese premiers would boost economic cooperation, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

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