Soldiers from China have been deployed to Europe to conduct a round of wargames lasting 11 days in a move that is sure to taunt Nato.
Military exercises began on the territory of Belarus, between the forces of Vladimir Putin’s two allies.
Belarus – a nation ostracized by the West over its support of the invasion of Ukraine – has invited China for drills, just a few miles from the border of Nato-member Poland.
Exercises kicked off officially on Monday, the eve of the Trans-Atlantic summit in Washington.
Major general Vadim Denisenko, chief of Belarusian special operations command, said in a statement on Telegram: ‘Events taking place in the world are alarming, the situation is uneasy.
‘Therefore we are going to practice new forms and methods of performing tactical tasks.’
Codenamed Falcon Assault, the drills will run until July 19 at a training ground near the city of Brest.
The southwest city, formerly known as Brest-Litovsk, is only 30 miles away from Ukraine.
The Belarusian government said that as part of the ‘anti-terrorist exercises’, forces of both countries will work out issues of night landing, overcoming water barriers, and conducting operations in a populated area.
Photos circulated on Telegram show Chinese troops disembarking from a plane and offloading equipment.
In posts shared on Monday it showed soldiers marching at a training ground. It was not clear how many were involved in the exercises.
The Chinese defence ministry said in a statement that Belarus held ‘a grand welcome ceremony’ for their soldiers who arrived in the eastern European nation on Saturday.
A statement from the ministry added: ‘The joint training aims to enhance the coordination capabilities of the participating troops, and deepen practical cooperation between the two armies.’
This comes just days after Belarus became the 10th member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a grouping promoted by China and Russia as a counterweight to Western influence. Iran, Pakistan and India are also members.
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