China holds maneuvers with Belarus on the border with Poland
Earlier this year, China held so-called Anti-Terror exercises with Belarus. Now it is doing so again - near the border with Poland. Experts view this not as a coincidence. Instead, it is a clear sign to NATO. Beijing is strongly criticized by NATO on this matter.
It is a clear signal to the West: While NATO is meeting in Washington, China and Belarus are holding a drill at the Polish border. The military exercises in close proximity to the NATO area take place during a time of increasing tensions between Beijing and the Western Alliance. At their summit, NATO leaders labeled China as a "decisive supporter" in Russia's aggression war in Ukraine, which was sharply criticized in Beijing.
The joint exercises are taking place in the Belarusian border city of Brest, according to the Chinese Defense Ministry. The "Falcon Strike 2024" exercise reportedly began on a Monday and is scheduled to last until mid-July. According to reports from Minsk, it is an "Anti-Terror exercise." The number of soldiers participating is currently unknown. Such exercises have taken place between 2011 and 2018. The current exercise is the first since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Belarus is supporting the attack.
"The commanders on both sides expressed the hope to improve combat techniques and deepen cooperation and communication between the two armies," the statement from Beijing read. The exercise is not directed against any specific country.
The NATO member Poland is closely monitoring the exercises in its neighborhood. "The situation is being closely watched and analyzed," the Defense Ministry in Warsaw stated. "The Defense Ministry sees the potential for these operations to be used for disinformation and propaganda purposes in relation to the NATO summit."
Deepening Ties to Russia
The war in Ukraine and Western support for Kiev are the central themes of the ongoing summit in Washington, which is set to conclude on a Wednesday. In their statement released on a Wednesday, the heads of state and government expressed "deep concern" over China's close ties to Russia. Beijing has not condemned Russia's aggression in Ukraine and continues to supply both civilian and military useful items to Moscow. The People's Republic considers itself neutral in the conflict - since the war began, however, Beijing and Moscow have deepened their relations.
With the exercise, China is now deploying its military at the border of the Atlantic Alliance, on the territory of its closest ally and neighbor of Ukraine. The date and location were not chosen by chance, said Kelly Grieco, researcher at the Stimson Center, a think tank in Washington. "Multilateral exercises are often used to send a political message, which is more important than the exercises themselves," the expert on military alliances noted.
Grieco reminded that China had held four anti-terror exercises in Belarus in the 2010s, but none since then. The fact that they are taking place "in Brest, so close to the Polish border, is part of the signal."
The timing of the exercise is "thoughtfully chosen" [
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The schedule for joint military exercises is well thought out and aligns with the international agenda, said Alice Ekman from the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). She gave another example: "In April 2023, the Chinese conducted joint exercises with Russia in the East China Sea near Japanese islands - a day before a summit of the USA, Japan, and South Korea, to express their opposition to such a meeting."
In response to the latest allegations from the Alliance, Beijing reacted angrily: NATO should stop exaggerating the "so-called threat from China" and "provoking confrontation and rivalry," declared a spokesperson for the Chinese mission at the EU. The defense alliance should contribute more to peace and stability in the world.
The People's Republic is perceived as undeniably hostile towards NATO for historical reasons, but increasingly also for strategic reasons, said researcher Ekman. China has never forgiven the Alliance for the bombing of its embassy in Belgrade in 1999 by a NATO aircraft. Furthermore, Beijing has not forgotten that the Alliance was active in Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan in the following years - far beyond its territory.
The exercises are a direct message to NATO, as they occur during their summit in Washington, with China and Belarus conducting military drills near the Polish border. Beijing's deepening ties with Russia, including supplying military useful items, has not gone unnoticed by NATO, who labeled China as a "decisive supporter" in Russia's aggression war in Ukraine.
