Led by the Russian host, the training will include troops from India, Belarus, Mongolia, Tajikistan and other countries besides China, the Chinese Ministry of Defense said in a brief statement on Wednesday. Drill, which will be held between August 30 and September 5 in various military facilities in Russia, is likely to be traced globally given the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Although there were no official comments from the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, people who were familiar with this problem said the two countries had sent troops for such training in the past in accordance with multilateral commitments to work together in defense and security matters.
Indian Army officials, also, refused official comments about the coming training, but said there were some examples of India and China who participated in multi-state training, including those held in Russia last year, before. The Chinese Ministry of Defense said this exercise was “unrelated” with international and regional conditions at this time. The Russian government confirmed the “Vostok” (East) training last month without sharing details.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense confirmed the exercise and shared several further details on Wednesday. “In accordance with the annual plan for cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries and bilateral agreements, PLA (People’s Liberation Army) will soon delegate and send part of their troops to Russia to participate in Vostok-2022 exercises,” China said.
“China’s participation aims to improve strategic coordination among participating countries and strengthen the ability to respond to security threats,” said the ministry’s statement, according to the official media. Reacting to development, former Lieutenant General Commander Ds Hooda (RETD) said: “I am not too concerned with India and China who took part in this multi-country exercise against the background of Standoff Ladakh. What will be more significant is to restart the Indian-Chinese bilateral hand exercise, which seems impossible to occur today. “In a statement in July, the Russian government said the troops from the Eastern Military District of the country would take part in training and would be held in 13 military facilities.
“The exercise will unite air forces, long-distance and military transport aircraft and military contingents from other countries,” Russia’s statement was quoted as saying by the official Tass news agency, said.The Russian Eastern Military District is part of a remote Siberian region and its head office is in Khabarovsk, which is located about 30 km from the Chinese border.
Tens of thousands of soldiers from India and China were deployed on both sides of Lac in East Ladakh when the two countries struggled to complete the worst cold in bonds in decades. The only military exercise held between India and China, the “hand” of the counterterrorism, was still suspended.The eighth and last round was held in December 2019, at Umroi, Meghalaya.