Chinese troops will leave for Russia to take part in the Russian “Vostok-2018” strategic military drills from mid-late August to mid-September, 2018.

中国军队将于8月中下旬至9月中旬开赴俄罗斯参加俄军“东方-2018”战略演习。

Incorporating the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) for the first time, the “Vostok-2018” is different from the previous China-Russia joint military exercises. Some experts say this shows that the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is further deepening in the military and security fields.

这是解放军首次参加俄军演习，与此前中俄联演有大不同。专家认为，这表明中俄战略协作伙伴关系在军事和安全领域的进一步深化。

The “Vostok-2018” is one of the four regular large-scale military exercises in Russia, along with the “Zapad”, “Central” and “Caucasus”. "The 'Vostok-2018' is the largest event since the 'Exercise Zapad-81' maneuvers which has acquired international status. It has unprecedented scale both in territory and number of troops involved," Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu announced.

“西方”“东方”“中央”“高加索”四大首长司令部战略演习是俄罗斯例行性大规模演习。俄防长绍伊古表示，“东方-2018”战略演习在规模上将是史无前例的，“这是自‘西方-81’大演习以来最大规模的部队训练活动，它具有国际演习地位，规模史无前例。"

The 'Vostok 2018' drills will involve Russian Eastern and Central military districts, Northern Fleet, Airborne Troops, long-range and transport aviation. Besides, it will involve military command and control bodies of the Chinese PLA and Mongolian Armed Forces,” Shoigu said.

东部和中部军区、北方舰队、空天军、远程和军事运输航空兵将参加演习。此外，中国军队的指挥机关和分队以及蒙古武装力量也将参演。”

“Unlike other previous China-Russia joint military exercises, the series of ‘Vostok’ military drills used to be conducted by Russia only,” an anonymous military expert said on August 20, adding that China’s participation in the “Vostok-2018” this time sends out some signals.

“过去中国参加的都是中俄联合演习，此次特别之处在于中国参加俄罗斯的演习。”一位要求匿名的专业人士20日告诉记者，“东方”系列演习本来是俄罗斯的单方演习，这次却有中国参加，传递了三重信息。

Firstly, some experts were initially worried that Russia's “Vostok-2018” might be directed against China. However, the Chinese troops’ participation in the “Vostok-2018” dispelled these doubts.

首先，最初曾有专家担心俄罗斯在组织完其他几个方向战略演习后组织“东方”演习，是不是可能把矛头指向中国，此次解放军参演完全打破了这种猜想。

Secondly, according to the exercise subjects published by the authority, the “Vostok-2018” mainly concentrates on traditional security, unlike previous China-Russia joint military exercises which focused on non-traditional security challenges.

其次，从官方公布的演习科目看，此次演习是典型的传统安全领域演习，与此前非传统安全领域科目为主的演习不同。

Thirdly, the Chinese troops’ participation in the Russian military drills shows that China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is further deepening in the military and security fields.

第三，解放军参加俄罗斯军演，代表中俄战略协作伙伴关系在军事和安全领域的进一步深化。

According to Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of Russia’s National Defense magazine, in view of the escalating pressure exerted by the US on Russia and China, such military drills show that America's attempt to contain Russia and China will not work.

俄《国防》杂志总编伊戈尔•科罗特琴科也表示，鉴于当前美国对俄罗斯和中国不断施压，这样的演习将向美国表明，对俄中两国的遏制是不会奏效的。

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