China and Belarus kickstarted joint military training drills miles from the Polish border, a video released by the Belarusian Defense Ministry on Monday showed.
Soldiers from China's People's Liberation Army joined Belarusian troops for what has been described as "anti-terrorist training," set to run Monday through July 19.
⚡️Belarus and China started joint anti-terrorist drills near the border with NATO
— Belarusian Hajun project (@Hajun_BY) July 8, 2024
The drills are conducted at the Brestski training ground, which is located 2.8 km from the border with NATO and 28 km from Ukraine. It’s reported that during the drills, the servicemen of the… pic.twitter.com/fGbEYHP1ec
The Context
The joint drills come days after Belarus joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), becoming its 10th member state. The SCO is a regional grouping which has been touted by Russia and China as an alternative international framework to ones led by the West.
It marks the first time Beijing has deployed troops to Minsk for training.
What We Know
"As part of the anti-terrorist exercises, servicemen from both countries will work on issues of night landing, overcoming water obstacles, and conducting operations in populated areas," Belarus' Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Telegram.
The defense ministry published photos and a video from the first day of the drills at the Brestsky training ground, located near to the country's border with NATO member Poland.
"Events taking place in the world are alarming, the situation is uneasy, therefore, we are going to practice new forms and methods of performing tactical tasks," Chief of the Special Operations Command of Belarus' Armed Forces Vadim Denisenko said in a statement.
"We will test all the new things that have been developed in recent years to see how the joint unit will perform. At certain stages the unit will be combined, there will be no separate Chinese unit or a separate Belarusian unit, they will act together," he added.
Beijing's troops arrived in the country on Saturday.
Belarus's Defense Ministry said the joint drills "will allow...the laying of a foundation for further development of Belarusian-Chinese relations in the field of joint training of troops."
Views
Belarusian politician Franak Viačorka said on X, formerly Twitter, that it is "very concerning" that China has agreed to joint drills with Belarus.
"The official reason 'combatting anti-terrorism activities' is a cover for criminal regimes in Minsk & Moscow to pursue their aggressive anti-democratic goals. Belarusians oppose the country's militarization," he wrote.
Jan Pieklo, an expert in Eastern European and Western Balkans affairs and former Polish ambassador to Kyiv, noted that the joint drills also come on the heels of the NATO summit in Washington.
"It's not a coincidence—it's a clear signal of Beijing support for Russia," Pieklo said on X.
Beijing and Moscow have maintained close ties throughout Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and declared a "no limits" partnership in February 2022, days before the war began. China has not publicly criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Belarus, a former Soviet republic, has also maintained strong relations with Russia throughout the war. Russian troops have been allowed to conduct exercises on Belarusian territory since before the beginning of the war. The country was used by Russia to help launch its invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
