The exercises will take place in northwest China and will mark Beijing’s first joint military drill since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Russian defence ministry. China’s Defence Ministry Wu Qian also confirmed the news today.
A spokesman said: “Based on the consensus reached between China and Russia, the Russian Armed Forces will take part in the drills West/Interaction-2021 that will run in China at the beginning and in the middle of August.”
He added that the drills will run on the premises of the army training base in the town of Qingtongxia and will involve aircrafts and artillery.
The exercise will aim to strengthen and develop a comprehensive strategic partnership between Russia and China, maintain regional peace and stability and demonstrate the resolve to fight terrorism.
The Chinese troops that will participate in the drills will mainly come from the PLA Western Theater Command.
The Russian participating forces will be from the Eastern Military District.
The troops will be mixed into teams and will make plans, as well as carry out training, together.
The aim of this will be to verify and improve both troops’ capabilities of joint reconnaissance, search and early warning, electronic information attack, and joint attack and elimination.
The news comes after Joe Biden warned that cyber attacks aimed at the USA could lead to a “real shooting war”.
READ MORE: Merkel’s alliance with Joe Biden sparks fears of Russian attack on EU
The attacks ranged from extensive espionage breaches that affected the government to ransomware threats that brought operations at an important oil pipeline and meat packing plants to a complete stop.
The US President and his administration have blamed the governments of Russia and China for some of the attacks.
Several US officials warned that the USA would respond with a “mix of tools seen and unseen”.
However, despite the warnings, the cyber breaches have continued.
The Biden administration has not clarified who such a war might be fought against, but the US President did mention Russian leader Vladimir Putin by name in his remarks.
Mr Biden alleged that Russia was spreading misinformation ahead of the 2022 US midterm elections.
The US president said: “It’s a pure violation of our sovereignty.”
He continued: “Mr Putin . . . has a real problem. He is sitting on top of an economy that has nuclear weapons and oil wells and nothing else. Nothing else.
“He knows he’s in real trouble, which makes him even more dangerous.”
Last month at a summit in Geneva, Mr Biden warned Mr Putin that the US would “respond with cyber” if Russia or Russian-based hackers targeted critical US infrastructure.
Mr Biden also claimed that the Chinese president Xi Jinping was “deadly earnest” about China becoming the most powerful military force in the world by 2040, as well as the largest economy.
The US president said: “It’s real . . . This boy’s got a plan.”
