Russia, China to hold joint military exercises: report

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Protest outside Russian embassy in China: state media
Relatives of sailors who died or went missing when a Russian warship sank a Chinese cargo vessel staged a small protest outside the Russian embassy in Beijing on Wednesday, state media said. The 32 demonstrators -- all relatives of the victims -- were asked to leave the embassy shortly after they arrived early Wednesday morning, the official Xinhua news agency said. Protests are rare in Beijing and generally only occur outside the foreign embassies, which have tight government security, with permission from Chinese authorities. A Sierra-Leone flagged, Chinese-owned vessel called New Star sank on February 15 off Russia's east coast after a Russian naval vessel fired more than 500 rounds to try and force it back to port. Media reports said the New Star had earlier fled the Russian port of Nakhodka where it had been impounded for alleged smuggling. It is still unclear how many people died during the incident. Russian news agencies have said eight of the 16 crew members were killed, and Xinhua says seven Chinese crew members remain missing. The ship had 10 Chinese and six Indonesian sailors on board, according to the Russian Interfax news agency. The Russian embassy and Beijing police were not immediately available for comment on Wednesday.

by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) March 18, 2009
Russia and China will conduct joint military exercises this summer on Chinese territory, Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a source in the Russian defence ministry.

"Consultations between the two countries' defence ministries will begin shortly, in which the forces and resources involved in the exercises are to be determined, as well as the thematic focus of the joint manoeuvres," he said.

Counter-terrorism will be one element of the war games, said the source. He did not specify the timing of the exercises, but Interfax reported that they would take place in the summer of 2009 on Chinese territory.

"These will be bilateral Russian-Chinese exercises and not manoeuvres under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)," the source said, referring to a six-nation regional group led by Moscow and Beijing.

Russia and China have stepped up their military cooperation in recent years, holding regular joint exercises since 2005, although analysts say the SCO has yet to become a full-fledged military alliance.

During the Cold War, Moscow and Beijing had a tense relationship as rivals for the leadership of the Communist world.

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No Japan-China summit this month: officials

Tokyo (AFP) March 17, 2009
Japan's Premier Taro Aso will not visit China this month, Japanese government officials said Tuesday, following earlier reports that Tokyo and Beijing were trying to schedule a summit in March.

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