[ad_1]
MOSCOW—Russia said it would hold joint naval drills with China, highlighting the close partnership between the two nations as the Kremlin seeks to bolster support among partners to offset Western isolation for its war in Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday that a detachment of warships of the Pacific Fleet from Vladivostok has been put to sea to participate in naval exercises with their Chinese counterparts, starting Wednesday and running through Dec. 27.
The active part of the exercises would include “joint rocket and artillery firing at air targets, artillery firing at sea targets, as well as practicing joint anti-submarine actions with the practical use of weapons,” the Defense Ministry said. It noted that the main goal of the drills was to strengthen naval cooperation between the two nations, enhance their combat capability to jointly counter threats at sea, and to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
The announcement of the drills, though part of an annual endeavor between the two nations since 2012, came the same day Russian President
met with Belarusian President
Alexander Lukashenko
in Minsk, stirring unease that Mr. Putin is moving to draw Moscow’s closest ally into the war in Ukraine.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has signaled that he isn’t planning to deploy troops to aid the Kremlin.
Photo:
vyacheslav oseledko/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Mr. Lukashenko has signaled that he isn’t planning to deploy troops to aid the Kremlin, but a recent bustle of military activity, including joint troop exercises between Belarus and Russia, has created the impression that Minsk could formally enter the war in support of Moscow at a time when Kyiv is trying to cement its advances toward the east and south, analysts have said.
On Monday, Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov,
described as “stupid and unfounded” reports that Mr. Putin was traveling to Belarus to force Minsk to participate in what Moscow calls its special military operation, Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
Also on Monday, Russia’s Defense Ministry television channel, Zvezda, posted a video of Russian troops undergoing training in Belarus, with motorized riflemen and soldiers skilled in artillery and mortars conducting coordinated combat exercises. Belarus’s Defense Ministry said Monday that its armed forces had completed combat readiness checks.
Saddled with sanctions from the West and increasingly ostracized, Mr. Putin has sought to bolster the support of Moscow’s partners, particularly courting those that are also at odds with the U.S. and Europe. Following the invasion of Ukraine, the European Union expanded its sanctions against Belarus for its support of Russia’s military actions. Mr. Lukashenko allowed Moscow to use Belarus as a staging ground to deploy troops to Ukraine. Tens of thousands of Russian troops were stationed there, and Russian war planes have taken off from Belarusian bases.
“Belarus is not only our good neighbor…but also our ally in the truest sense of the word,” Mr. Putin said in televised remarks at the start of the talks with Mr. Lukashenko.
He outlined economic ties as a priority between Russia and Belarus. Trade turnover between the two nations increased by a third in 2021 to $38 billion and was expected to reach $40 billion this year, he said.
He said military technical cooperation between Russia and Belarus wasn’t only about each country supplying the other with resources, but also about joint developments and cooperation including in the sphere of high-tech industries and space.
The defense ministers of both nations also met and discussed steps to enhance the two countries’ defense capabilities, the Belarusian Defense Ministry reported.
Mr. Lukashenko said, “The strengthening of Belarusian-Russian relations has become a natural response to the changing situation in the world, in which we…are being constantly tested for our resilience.” He said, “Despite some rough edges, we are still finding effective responses to various challenges and threats.”
Following their negotiations, Mr. Putin told officials gathered at the Palace of Independence in Minsk that Russia and Belarus had agreed to continue to conduct joint military exercises and to develop new military equipment together. A unified air defense system has been created and is on combat duty, the Kremlin leader said. He said Moscow would continue to fulfill Mr. Lukashenko’s proposal to train pilots who are able to operate planes carrying what he described as “a special warhead.”
“This form of cooperation is not our invention, the United States has been conducting similar activities with its allies within the NATO bloc for decades,” Mr. Putin said, adding that he and his Belarusian counterpart had “agreed to continue to jointly take all necessary measures to reliably ensure the security of our two countries.”
Mr. Lukashenko told the gathering that “if someone is trying to drive a wedge between us, they will fail,” he said. “Our relations will grow only stronger.”
Though Beijing and Moscow aren’t formal diplomatic allies, China’s leader
Xi Jinping
has been Mr. Putin’s most powerful supporter and has found common cause with the Russian leader in trying to defend their nations’ respective interests and authoritarian systems from Western pressure.
Mr. Xi has publicly tried to put distance between Beijing and Moscow, as Russia has faced several battlefield setbacks, but has simultaneously refrained from outwardly criticizing Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. Officials in Beijing have expressed support for Russia’s position in favor of a “fair settlement” in the conflict, according to the readout of a recent diplomatic call between Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov
and his Chinese counterpart
Wang Yi.
In recent weeks, Mr. Xi has instructed his government to forge stronger economic ties with Russia, according to policy advisers to Beijing.
Russia, in turn, has backed China amid its tensions with the U.S. over Taiwan.
Chinese authorities haven’t disclosed any information about the joint naval exercises with Russia. The information office of its cabinet, the State Council, didn’t respond to a request for comment on China’s participation in the drills, and the Defense Ministry couldn’t be reached for comment.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Pacific Fleet’s flagship Varyag missile cruiser, the Marshal Shaposhnikov frigate, and the warships Aldar Tsydenzhapov and Sovershenny would represent Russia in the drills. China’s naval forces would include two destroyers, two patrol ships, an integrated supply ship and a diesel submarine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.
Russian and Chinese marine aviation planes and helicopters would also participate in the training, according to Russian defense officials.
Write to Ann M. Simmons at ann.simmons@wsj.com
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
[ad_2]
Leave a Reply