Peace Mission 2005 Explained

Peace Mission 2005 was the first ever joint military exercise between China and Russia. The exercise started on August 19, 2005, and consisted of combined land, sea, and air elements simulating an intervention in a state besieged by terrorists or political turmoil. It concluded on August 25, 2005. The force practiced air and naval blockades, an amphibious assault, and occupying a region. Approximately 8,200 Chinese troops took part along with 1,800 Russian troops. China initially wanted to hold the exercise near the Taiwan Strait, Russia wanted to hold the exercise in Northwestern China near central Asia, but instead settlement was made on the Shandong Peninsula.[1]

There were a number of reasons why both countries sought to conduct a joint military exercise. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

The stated reason for the exercise was counter-terrorism; however, many analysts agree that the use of such heavy firepower, including long-range bombers, has no practical relevance where the field and practice of counter-terrorism is concerned.[2] Rather, the use of the term in this case demonstrates how easy it was for countries around the world to use the US's 'War on Terror' as a template to legitimise their own domestic or foreign policies. It provided an ideal blue print for nation-states to both grow militarily, but also to repress legitimate internal political dissent, all in the name of waging a war on terror.

Observers

The war game was carried out by two senior members of SCO (China and Russia) and defense ministers of SCO member's invited to watch the exercises,[3] so, it observed by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, India and Pakistan as other members and observers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization.[4]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Staff . 2005-08-18 . First China-Russia war games begin . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-09-17 . 0261-3077.
  2. McDermott . Roger N. . Sliwa . Zdzislaw . LaBarre . Frédéric . L'émergence stratégique chinoise intentionnelle ou accidentelle ? . Tribune . fr . (2/3) . 2.
  3. Web site: Joint Drill with Russia Named 'Peace Mission 2005' . 2023-09-17 . www.china.org.cn.
  4. News: Power Politics: China, Russia, and Peace Mission 2005 . en-US . Jamestown . 2023-09-17.