Camp opens to Peace Mission 2009 soldiers

Chinese and Russian military staff for the China-Russia Peace Mission 2009 joint exercise have their training on the first day when they entered the camp in Taonan, Jilin province of China, on Wednesday.

Chinese and Russian defense authorities announced on July 8 that the two states, both members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, will jointly conduct the exercise.

Russian Armed Forces General of Staff Nikolai Makarov and the PLA General Chen Bingde will hold strategic talks in Russia's Khabarovsk on July 22.

The military drill begins on July 22 and lasts until July 26. About 1,300 personnel from the army and air force of each side will participate in the exercise and Russia will also send an airborne assault unit, according to the Defense Ministry.

The exercise, code-named "PeaceMission-2009", will be carried out in Russia's Far East area and northeast China's Shenyang Military Command, according to the two countries' defense authorities. It will last five days.

China, Russia and other member states of Shanghai Cooperation Organization previously held two similar anti-terrorism exercises under the name "Peace Mission" in 2005 and 2007.

The exercise is not targeted at any particular third party but will showcase the abilities and resolutions of both sides to jointly cope with various kinds of security threats and crack down on terrorist, separatist and extremist forces, the Defense Ministry said.

Video & story: Peng Kuang | Editor: Zhu Chuange