China, Russia wrap up military exercise
(AP)
Updated: 2005-08-25 20:24

Thousands of Chinese and Russian troops wrapped up their historic first joint military exercises Thursday with a mock invasion by paratroopers on China's east coast.

A Chinese fighter plane fires at ground targets in an amphibious landing drill during the third phase of the Sino-Russian 'Peace Mission 2005' joint military exercise, held in China's Shandong Peninsula on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2005. [AP]

On Thursday, Chinese and Russian paratroopers simulated the seizure of an airfield as planes dropped combat vehicles by parachute on the Shandong Peninsula in the Yellow Sea, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Propaganda leaflets fell from the sky in "a psychological tactic to shake the enemy's will," according to Xinhua.

"The exercise ended with the defeat of the 'enemy,'" the agency said.

Russia's Interfax news agency also portrayed the operation as a success, saying Russian planes landed 10 combat vehicles and two armored personnel carriers by parachute in high winds.

Earlier drills included a mock amphibious assault and a sea battle.

The exercise, dubbed "Peace Mission 2005," was inaugurated last week in the Russian port of Vladivostok and shifted on Saturday to China.

Ties between the two governments have warmed since the Soviet collapse in the early 1990s.

China has become the biggest foreign buyer of Russian arms and looks to Russia as a source of oil and gas for its booming economy. Beijing and Moscow also are partners in a six-nation regional group meant to combat Islamic extremism in Central Asia.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, who was in China for the exercise, said this week the unprecedented cooperation was based on a "strategic partnership," Interfax reported.

"The fact that such large-scale exercises are taking place demonstrates that our military cooperation is at a high level," Ivanov was quoted as saying.

On Wednesday, Chinese and Russian troops launched a mock amphibious beach landing.

State television showed landing craft disgorging troops in a light rain while bombers and fighter jets attacked imaginary targets. Soldiers charged through seaside scrub and rappelled from helicopters.

Chinese and Russian officials say the exercises are based on a scenario of a joint mission to stabilize a fictional country. Commanders from both sides have tried to reassure the region that the exercises aren't directed against any nation.

The games also give Russia a chance to show off high-tech bombers and other equipment that it hopes Beijing will buy.

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