China and Russia have agreed on a road map to deepen co-operation on military patrols and exercises. The agreement was announced a few days after the two countries' air forces held joint patrols over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea that featured Chinese H-6K (pictured) and Russian Tu-95 bombers. (Japan Air Self-Defense Force)
China and Russia have agreed to expand military collaboration over the coming five years, Russia's Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 23 November. The move will facilitate deeper co-operation in joint patrols and military exercises.
The ‘road map for military co-operation for 2021-2025' was approved in a video conference chaired by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe, said the MoD. It said the road map will focus on increasing bilateral collaboration on “strategic military exercises and joint patrols”.
China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) said the road map will also support “strategic co-ordination” in joint military activities, which safeguard the interests of the two countries and protect regional security.
Citing “military observers”, China's state-run Global Times – a newspaper that operates under the People's Daily , the mouthpiece of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China – said the road map could facilitate joint sea-air patrols for the first time. It added that the agreement will “normalise” joint military drills and patrols between the two countries.
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