War Exercises of Unprecedented Proportions

Russia Holds Vostok 2018 War Games

Russia held its Vostok 2018 (East 2018) war games from September 11 to 17, said to be the largest war exercises in the region since the end of the Cold War. They involved some 300,000 Russian troops, over 1,000 aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, up to 36,000 tanks, armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles, along with some 80 ships and supply vessels. The exercises took place throughout Siberia, Russia's far eastern region and the surrounding waters of the Pacific Ocean. The last time Russia was involved in war exercises on such a scale was 1981 when the Zapad 81 (West 81) drills, that involved about 100,000 troops, were held in the Soviet Union's Belarusian, Kiev and Baltic Military Districts and in the Baltic Sea.

A Kremlin press release stated that the main objectives of the Vostok 2018 exercises were to check the level of readiness of the military command bodies for planning and conducting the regrouping of troops over long distances and organizing interaction between land troops and naval forces. They should also help commanders and staff improve their command and control skills, it said. The Kremlin also informed that a brigade commander of the Mongolian Armed Forces, as well as 87 observers from 59 countries, attended the drills.

Mongolia, China and NATO member Turkey were invited to participate. Units of the Mongolian Armed Forces took part while China sent 3,200 troops, more than 900 pieces of land equipment and 30 aircraft and took part in mobile defence and counterattack drills at the Tsugol training range in the Trans-Baikal region. A statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry explained that "The drills are aimed at consolidating and developing the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, deepening pragmatic and friendly cooperation between the two armies, and further strengthening their ability to jointly deal with varied security threats, which are conducive to safeguarding regional peace and security."

The "strategic partnership" cooperation between China and Russia refers to high-level exchanges that began this spring between the two countries explicitly for purposes of countering U.S. unilateralism.

(With files from Xinhua and agencies.)

(TML Weekly, October 20, 2018 - No. 36)

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