China and Russia plan to add more activities in this year's joint military exercises. (Photo : Getty Images)
Russia and China are strengthening their military ties by adding more joint exercises to face a single foe: the United States.
On Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu revealed their plans on intensifying joint military exercises with China in 2016 which would include activities in both land and sea.
"We assess the level of Russian-Chinese contacts on both the government and military levels as high. This year we will hold many more exercises and events than last year," Sputnik News quoted him as saying during a Moscow meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan.
The Bear and Dragon Join Forces
According to Russia's state-run media outlet TASS, Moscow and Beijing are becoming closer by the second as the "Bear" and "Dragon" conduct bilateral cooperation on technology and at the 5th Moscow International Security Conference.
During a meeting with China's Chang, the Russian defense minister revealed the goal of deepening military ties with the Asian country.
"Certainly, the aim is to strengthen mutually beneficial relations of partnership," he said, adding that there should be an exchange in "opinions" during the military exercises.
Meanwhile, the Chinese defense minister lauded the efforts exerted by the heads of state of both countries to deepen military relations between the nations over the past year.
"Thanks to personal efforts of the two heads of state over the past year, the relations between Russian and Chinese armed forces have been developing at the high level," he said. "The sides have been implementing agreements and working side by side in all spheres."
In March, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for "strategic cooperation" between the two countries' defense arms during a meeting with Russian Presidential Administration Chief Sergei Ivanov.
"China-Russia strategic cooperation plays a key role in safeguarding peace and stability in the region and the world at large," the Xinhua News Agency quoted him as saying.
Common Foe
According to the Diplomat, the enhanced military relations between the two countries come as a surprise considering that Russia and China do not have a formal military alliance.
This means they cannot have complex integrated military operations that member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) would have.
However, this would still provide benefits to both military arms of the countries especially China's People's Liberation Army, Navy, and Air Force, which have not fought a full-scale war in a very long time.
Aside from that, the intensified military ties would also improve Moscow and Beijing's tactical and operational capabilities that could send a signal to third parties like the United States that they are an alliance to be reckoned with.
