The exercises, dubbed “Peace Mission 2005” and involving army, navy, air force, marine, airborne and logistics units, will be held in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East, and in the coastal Chinese province of Shandong and nearby waters, it said.
Amphibious stuff, huh? Not to worry, though:
“The exercises are not aimed at a third party or concerned with the interests of any third country,” the Chinese defense ministry said in a statement.
Would I be pointing out the bleeding obvious if I noted that Peking does not consider Taiwan a "third country?" Or any country at all, really.
But then the joint statement about the exercises gives the game away:
They will also “help strengthen the capability of the two armed forces in jointly striking at international terrorism, extremism and separatism”, the statement reads.
"Separatism." So what islands of Russia or China might consider being independent of either of these countries?
This article has a little more detail. Moscow is really starting to tick me off.
The Chinese may have lawyered up the language a bit, but I draw no comfort from it. Neither should the Taiwanese.
