Russia, China Kick Off Military Exercises

[steve2470]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5219088,00.html

Russia, China Kick Off Military Exercises\

Thursday August 18, 2005 9:01 PM

AP Photo XBH103

By BURT HERMAN

Associated Press Writer

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AP) - China and Russia sought to reassure a wary region Thursday that the aim of their first-ever joint military exercises was peaceful as both countries face mutual concerns about terrorism and extremism in Central Asia.

The war games launched Thursday will practice coordinating a joint force that culminates in a mock invasion next week on China's Shandong peninsula in the Yellow Sea - using thousands of air, sea and land forces to simulate a mission stabilizing a restive country.

The drills, dubbed ``Peace Mission 2005,'' are the latest indication of warming post-Cold War ties amid shared suspicions of U.S. dominance in world affairs. They also underscore Moscow's worries - and China's wariness - over a series of uprisings in several former Soviet republics that have resulted in pro-Western governments.

``The exercises are the logical continuation of the first signs of cooperation between Russia and China in the struggle against 'orange revolutions,' separatism and the dominant influence of the U.S. in the Euroasiatic sphere,'' the Gazeta.ru news Web site wrote Thursday. Orange was the color adopted by supporters of last year's revolution in Ukraine, which along with Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, saw mass demonstrations bring pro-Western administrations to power.

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[LiberalVoice]

1. I wonder when Iran gets to play. nt