Russia and China launch largest joint naval exercise as tensions escalate
Joint Sea II 2015: Russia and China yesterday launched the second phase of the largest joint naval exercise ever organised between the two countries, featuring 22 Russian warships, submarines and assorted support ships, 20 aircraft, over 500 marines and 40 units of armored vehicles, according to Vice Admiral Alexander Fedotenkov, the deputy chief of the Russian Navy. The Chinese presence consists of two destroyers (one of which is Russian-built) two frigates, two landing craft and a supply ship supported by six helicopters, five airplanes, 21 amphibious vehicles and 200 marines.
The manoeuvres come against the backdrop of increasingly frequent and large-scale military exercises conducted by NATO and Russia, which some say are escalating tensions between East and West; last week, a report issued by the London-based European Leadership Network think tank released a report warning that the increasing size and frequency of Russian and NATO war games — which appear to be training to fight each other — could drive the two sides into an actual war.
Eurasianbusinesbriefing
Attorney at Law
9yInteresting post. Just one quick question and an observation: (1) Where are these maneuvers taking place? (2) If one believes Putin's public statements after the fact about Crimea then Nato and the Russian Federation are on a nuclear "hair trigger".Supposedly Putin ordered Russia's strategic nuclear forces to anticipate and be prepared to immediately respond to an attack by Nato in which atomic weapons were used against Russia as a result of Russian actions in the Crimean "crisis". Time to de-escalate.