China and Russia to conduct anti-terror exercise

Chinese military personnel today left for Russia to participate in a 20-day anti-terrorism drill, the second joint exercise by the two countries this month.
The exercise, dubbed "Peace Mission 2013" and scheduled to run from July 27 to August 15, will be carried out in Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural Mountains region.
The joint drill does not target any third party and is meant to enhance mutual trust and cooperation between the two sides and to improve their capability to combat terrorism, the Chinese command headquarters said.
Earlier this month, the navies of the two countries held a joint exercise.
The Chinese troops attending the drills include an infantry combat group of 350 personnel, an air force combat group of 50 personnel, a 196-strong logistics group, a 20-member planning panel and a 30-member command force.

Six hundred Russian troops will join the wargame, which will be held in three phases, including troop deployment, war planning and campaign drills.

The Chinese officers and soldiers will be sent to the drill venue in seven batches, with four travelling by air and three by train.
Two Mi-171 military transport helicopters and four Z-9 armed helicopters with 72 personnel on board took off from an airport in Hailar in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region this morning.
They will travel more than 5,000 km with several stopovers and are expected to arrive at the drill venue in five days, state-run news agency Xinhua reported today.

According to the schedule, five fighter-bomber JH-7A jets will set out from Urumqi in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on July 31 and arrive in Russia the same day.