Russia, China display firepower, warn US on Central Asia

Helicopters and tanks from Russia, China and Central Asian countries participated in war games in Chebarkul, Russia, on Friday.

Helicopters fly in formation at the Chebarkul range during the Peace Mission 2007 counter-terrorism exercise among the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, August 17, 2007. (Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

The Hindu | Aug 17, 2006

by Vladimir Radyuhin

Shanghai Group conducts joint war exercises to counter U.S., NATO

MOSCOW: Russia, China and four Central Asian members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) conducted their largest war games in the southern Ural Mountains on Friday.

Chinese armoured personnel carriers take part in war games in Chebarkul. The presidents of Russia, China and four other Central Asian states have attended unprecedented joint military exercises on, intended as a display of strength to the West.(AFP/Maxim Marmur)

The leaders of the SCO watched an impressive display of combat skills and firepower in “Peace Mission-2007”, the first SCO military drill in which all the SCO nations took part. Russia and China, as well as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Fighter jets whizzed overhead, airborne troops baled out from transport planes, tanks and armoured personnel carriers surged ahead, as over 6,000 troops freed a small town captured by mock terrorists and insurgents. Russian television broadcast the exercises live.

Regional security

The war games came a day after the SCO leaders vowed to keep the U.S. and NATO away from Central Asia, declaring at their summit in Kyrgyzstan that stability and security in the region must be the responsibility of the regional nations and their organisations.

“Today’s exercises are yet another step towards stronger relations between our countries, a step aimed at strengthening global peace and security, above all the security of our peoples,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said after the war games.

Speaking in Bishkek, Mr. Putin proposed that the SCO member-states hold regular joint military manoeuvres in the future.

Related

Russia, China, Iran warn U.S. at summit
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan – The leaders of Russia, China and Iran said Thursday that Central Asia should be left alone to manage its stability and security — an apparent warning to the United States to avoid interfering in the strategic, resource-rich region.