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The Chinese military has begun joint military drills in Belarus that will run for the next 11 days in Brest, near the border with NATO member Poland.
The joint military drills between Russia’s two most important allies came after Belarus became the 10th member of the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at its 24th summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The Belarusian government said the drills would “lay the foundation for further development of Belarus-China relations in the field of joint training of armies.”
China called it an “anti-terrorism training” and said the exercises were based on “annual plans and agreements.”
It is the first time in six years that China has sent military personnel to Belarus for such exercises, with the last bilateral joint drills being held in China. The two countries also participated in Russia’s Vostok multilateral exercise in August 2022.
China and Belarus agreed to hold more joint military exercises after then-Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met in Minsk last August.
Photos released by the Belarusian Ministry of Defense showed troops from the People’s Liberation Army of China arriving in Belarus aboard a Chinese Y-20 strategic transport aircraft.
Brest is located less than five kilometers (3.1 miles) from the border with Poland, an EU and NATO member state and a key ally of Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Brest is also just 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Ukraine itself.
Martin Sebena, a lecturer at the University of Hong Kong specializing in China-Europe relations, said the timing and location of the exercises were likely to be seen as a signal of greater support from China to Russia and its European allies.
he South China Morning Post“The exercise coincides with a NATO summit and takes place on the border where Belarus has for months ‘weaponised’ the influx of migrants to pressure Poland and, by extension, the EU and NATO.”
The NATO summit is scheduled to take place in Washington from July 9 to 11.
“Two additional factors have been added to the Polish perception: firstly, Poland is reducing rail transport from China via Malaszewiczhov,” Sebena said. [near Brest] China has been focusing on expanding its overland rail trade from western China to Europe for fear it could be used to evade tariffs, and the hub is essentially the only place those trains can come in through the EU.
“Secondly, the Polish president was recently warmly welcomed in China, and the sincerity of the Chinese side is being questioned in Poland as Poles will see this exercise as directed at them.”
Chinese state media reported that Chinese troops also took part in a military parade in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, last Wednesday to mark 80 years since the liberation of Belarus.
“I believe that thanks to efforts from both sides, China-Belarus relations will continue to show strong growth and make great progress,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Astana, where he also met with the Belarusian president.
Lukashenko is one of Putin’s staunchest allies and the two men have made several mutual visits, most recently Putin’s two-day visit to Minsk last month, even as many countries have shunned Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine.
During his visit, Lukashenko appointed new military commanders and signaled continued cooperation with Russia. Belarus’ new chief of staff and first deputy defense minister, Maj. Gen. Pavel Muravejka, is known for openly threatening neighboring NATO members Poland and Lithuania.
Experts say that Russia’s deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus will further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, with implications for regional security and NATO relations. In 2023, Russia transferred some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus.
“Muraveiko’s appointment is an open challenge to the West and an attempt to demonstrate to President Putin his full loyalty to Minsk and his willingness to maintain a strategic partnership with Russia,” Valel Karbalevich, an independent Belarusian analyst, told The Associated Press last month.
“The deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus leaves President Lukashenko no strategic options, holds him hostage to the Kremlin and binds Minsk firmly to Moscow’s policies,” Karbalevich said.
Putin visited China in May for the second time in just six months, reflecting growing ties between the two countries at a time of increased Western scrutiny and sanctions.
“Today’s China-Russia relations were hard-earned and both sides need to cherish and nurture them,” Xi told Putin during their summit in Beijing. “China is ready to work together… to jointly realize the development and rejuvenation of the two countries and safeguard fairness and justice in the world.”
There are also growing concerns that China is considering providing military assistance to Russia, which U.S. officials have warned would have serious consequences.
Further reporting by the agency
