End of war game, China lays out spread for Russia

China, on Friday, praised its first joint military exercises with Russia for lifting relations to an all-time high and for opening further c...

China, on Friday, praised its first joint military exercises with Russia for lifting relations to an all-time high and for opening further cooperation.

Eight days of drills involving more than 10,000 troops from the former Cold War foes’ armies, navies and air forces concluded on Thursday with a practice air and ground assault in China’s eastern Shandong province.

The exercises kicked off on August 18 with consultations and battle planning on Russia’s Pacific coast near Vladivostok, and moved to China’s Shandong peninsula for live-fire drills including a joint offshore blockade and amphibious landing.

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The last event on the schedule was an outside ‘‘family-style lunch’’ of noodles, braised eggplant and fried fish washed down with beer as tank engines roared in the background, Xinhua news agency said.

‘‘Through the exercises, the two armed forces… improved their capabilities to meet new challenges and threats and to fight international terrorism, extremism and separatism,’’ Xinhua quoted Chinese Defence Minister Cao Gangchuan as saying.