Kremlin: China participation in war games shows interaction

MOSCOW – The Kremlin’s spokesman says China’s participation in major military exercises in Russia next month demonstrates growing connections between Moscow and Beijing.

The war games in central and eastern Russia, which are billed as the largest since the fall of the Soviet Union, will involve about 300,000 Russian troops. China’s state Xinhua news agency has reported China plans to send 3,200 troops and about 900 weapons units.

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Tuesday that “it indicates the broadening of interaction between these two allies in all spheres.”

Last week, military units in the east were put on a state of high alert in preparation for the games. The Defence Ministry on Monday released video of cruise missile tests by the Pacific Fleet in the Sea of Okhotsk.