China, Russia Launch War-Game Assault
Nearly 9,000 Russian and Chinese troops launched a mock assault on northern Chinese beaches Tuesday in the final stage of unprecedented joint war games.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei B. Ivanov was headed to the Chinese city of Qingdao, where he planned to watch soldiers stage an amphibious landing and simulate a battle to capture a coastal area today and Thursday, the Itar-Tass news agency reported from Moscow.
The live-fire exercise involves about 7,000 Chinese troops and 1,800 Russians, along with warships, planes and tanks.
Operations began with a simulated naval blockade, the official New China News Agency reported. Under the fictional scenario, the forces have a United Nations mandate to stabilize a third country.
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