USSURIYSK, Russia, Sept. 7 -- The main stage of Vostok (East)-2022 exercise officially kicked off on September 6 at the Sergeevsky training ground and in the waters of the Sea of Japan. Troops from countries including China, Russia, India, Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, and Kyrgyzstan staged a modern joint operation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin observed the live-fire drills of the main stage on site.
At about 4:50 p.m., the live-fire drills officially kicked off. At the Sergeevsky training ground, the Chinese ground force group, composed of ZTZ-99 main battle tanks, ZBD-04A infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), and PLZ-07A 122mm self-propelled howitzers, cooperated with foreign counterparts to march forward and defeat the mock enemy with intensive fire strikes.
In waters of the Sea of Japan, the Chinese naval force group, consisting of Destroyer Nanchang (hull 101), Frigate Yancheng (hull 546) and replenishment ship Dongpinghu (hull 960), together with its foreign counterparts, conducted drills on subjects of simulated missile attacks to the sea, artillery strikes against mock enemy’s landing force, etc.
The live-fire drills lasted about 40 minutes, realizing the defensive counterattack operations of multinational forces under the framework of coalition system.
After the exercise, Han Lin, director of the Chinese participating troops, pointed out that this is the fourth time that the Chinese military has sent troops to participate in the Russian military's annual strategic exercise. Multiple participating troops made the joint operation plan under a common strategic background, and conducted joint firing attacks against various targets. The Chinese side has dispatched ground equipment in an organized, large-scale, and systematic manner. And for the first time, it has sent naval ships to the Sea of Japan for coordinated drills, which serves to fully train the Chinese military’s ability to jointly conduct military operations with multinational forces.
