Chinese and Russian troops launched a drill amphibious landing
in east China's Shandong
Province on Wednesday morning as part of the joint military
exercise dubbed "Peace Mission 2005".
After a day of naval exercises with ships and planes practicing
air and sea blockades, the joint forces made an amphibious
landing.
At 11:08AM, the air forces took the lead in attacking military
facilities on the shore. Fighters and bombers targeted missile
launchers, accompanied by destroyers that flanked the shore with
canons.
The joint aircraft formation, covered by fighters, made
saturation bombings and destroyed major forward and deep targets,
disabling defense systems. Helicopters then swept off land blocks
clearing the way for Chinese and Russian joint marine corps.
Armored landing vehicles carrying hundreds of marines charged
forward on the shore accompanied by firing cover from amphibious
tanks and helicopters.
Hundreds of paratroopers were carried by three transporters into
the heart of "enemy" territory. At the same time, 18 helicopters
transported a special force squadron for an assault on the target's
left rear.
Half an hour later, covered by 12 armored helicopters, a Russian
marine company together with a Chinese amphibious battalion and
more than 40 landing vehicles set foot on the beach. The first
echelon of rangers captured the forward positions on the beach in
two minutes.
At 11:52AM, three landing craft of the joint fleet took a second
echelon of 32 armored carriers to the beach, supplying infantry to
secure the consolidated positions.
At 12:10PM, it was "mission accomplished".
General Ge Zhenfeng, general director of the Chinese side of the
exercise, said he was delighted with the smooth cooperation between
Chinese and Russian troops.
General Vladimir Moltenskoi, deputy chief of Russia's Land
Forces in charge of the exercise, said that soldiers and officers
of both sides had done excellent jobs by completing all the planned
missions with precision in very bad weather.
Chinese Defense Minister Cao
Gangchuan and his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov observed
the exercise.
China and Russia are members of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO), a
trans-national?cooperation framework. The other four members
are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
SCO delegates observing the joint military exercise include
Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Khairullaev, Kyrgyz Defense Minister
Ismail Isakov, Kazakh Deputy Defense Minister Abai Tasbulatov and
Uzbekistan Deputy Defense Minister R. Niyazov.
(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2005)
