Russia and China worked out a plan of military cooperation for 2020-21, Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said on Friday.
“A big cooperation plan has been prepared for the near future, and I am sure that we will analyze and approve it within the next month,” Shoygu told reporters in Russia’s southern city of Orenburg on the sidelines of the Center-2019 military exercise.
“SHOULDER TO SHOULDER”
Shoygu said some 1,500 Chinese servicemen were taking part in the drill and performing “high training standards.” “I think that the joint participation of Russian and Chinese servicemen in the military exercise shows the high level of our relationship, which is characterized as ‘shoulder to shoulder’,” Russia’s defense chief said.
The Center-2019 drill involves some 128,000 servicemen from eight countries, including Russia, China, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, India, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Over 20,000 pieces of weaponry and military equipment and about 600 aircraft are taking part in the military exercise.
The member countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) — Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — will host some stages of the drill which will run through Sept. 21.