Russia is Launching Two Major War Games, and China is Invited

Russian war games will start next week in the Mediterranean Sea. These will be followed by a second military drill, Vostok-18, that will be held in Siberia and Russia’s far East that will begin September 11th. Combined, the games will see multiple naval fleets, thousands of planes, tens of thousands of vehicles, and hundreds of thousands of Russian, Mongolian, and Chinese troops practice large scale maneuvers. These drills will be the largest Russia has held since the Cold War.

In the Mediterranean games, Russian Naval forces will practice anti-submarine and anti-air combat drills. The drill serves as an open show of force to Western powers right before Syrian forces make their push into the last rebel held stronghold in Idlib. The Mediterranean war games also display Russia’s mission to garner greater influence over the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East, and North Africa. This drill came as a surprise to NATO members, who just days before announced the build-up of Russian forces near Syria for unknown reasons.

In Russia’s far East, Vostok-18 will be the largest joint war game Russia and China have ever participated in together. Around 300,000 Russian soldiers will be joined by 3,200 Chinese troops and soldiers from Mongolia. While the scenario for the drill has not yet been released, Pentagon officials have stated that the Vostok drill will likely focus on invasion from a major foreign power, like the U.S. The military exercise will occupy most of the military districts in central and eastern Russia.

Large scale war games conducted by Russia are not new; the largest one ever conducted took place during the Cold War. What is new, however, is the inclusion of Chinese troops as a part of large scale exercises. Historically speaking, Russia and China have not been close, and so the inclusion of Chinese troops to this drill marks a shift towards what may become one of the strongest military alliances in the world.

These war games are being launched at a time when international pressure on Russia and China is high. Russia is facing sanctions from the United States and the United Kingdom in addition to condemnation for its role and behavior in Syria. China is in the middle of a trade war with the United States and is receiving condemnation for its ongoing actions in the South China Sea.

Large scale war games like these are unwelcome by NATO and Japan.  It shows a worrying sign that the Russian-Sino split is being mended out of shared interests to combat pressure from Western countries and Japan. This is a worrying scenario as such an alliance could bully U.S. allies in the Pacific and in Europe to bend to the demands of Russia and China via economic, energy, and military pressure.

A strong Russia-China alliance is antithetical to the interests of the United States and her allies across the globe. This United States will work to stop the rise of such an entente that threatens the global order the West has painstakingly created.