Vostok 2018 war games: China’s chance to learn Russia’s military lessons from Syria
China has not been in an armed conflict since its last war with Vietnam in the late 1970s
The Chinese armed forces will have the chance next month to learn from Russia’s combat experience in Syria when PLA personnel take part in Moscow’s biggest war games in decades, Chinese military sources and observers said.
Russia is preparing to mount Vostok 2018, what it says will be an “unprecedented military exercise” involving almost 300,000 troops and 1,000 aircraft. The war games are billed as the country’s biggest since 1981, when as many as 150,000 Soviet Army personnel were mobilised.
About 3,200 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops and 30 aircraft will take part in the joint exercises in the Tsugol training range in Russia’s far east Trans-Baikal region from September 11 to 15.
Chinese military tanks for the exercise were seen crossing the China-Russia border at Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia on Tuesday.
Hong Kong-based military analyst Song Zhongping said the war games were expected to be a chance for the PLA participants to draw on Russian expertise, including combat tactics and strategy from the wars in Syria and Chechnya.
The PLA is the only major military force that has no real battle experience and it is very eager to get its hands on some real lessons