Chinese and Belarusian forces to hold joint "Eagle Attack 2024"
Chinese and Belarusian armed forces will conduct joint military exercises named "Eagle Attack 2024." According to the Chinese media report on Monday, the anti-terrorism manoeuvres will occur around Brest in Belarus. According to information from the Belarusian side, the exercises will last from the 8th to the 19th of July.
The Chinese Ministry of Defence explained that the decision to conduct joint manoeuvres resulted from the "annual plan and consensus reached by both countries."
In a statement released on Sunday, it was emphasized that both sides will use a mixed form of training for the anti-terrorism exercises. The joint exercises will include activities related to hostage rescue and anti-terrorism operations. The aim of these activities is to improve the level of training and interoperability of the participating forces and deepen pragmatic cooperation between them.
According to information provided by the Ministry of Defence, Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers have already arrived in Belarus. However, no exact start and end dates for the exercises were given.
Chinese-Belarusian manoeuvres near the Polish border
In its press release, the Belarusian Ministry of Defence announced that the manoeuvres are scheduled from 8th to 19th July. The Belarusian side also emphasized that the joint exercises would enable the exchange of experiences, coordination of units from both countries and the development of the basis for further development of Belarusian-Chinese relations in the field of joint military training.
The Chinese daily "Global Times" noted that these would be the first joint manoeuvres of the armies of these countries since Belarus joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation last week, which was initiated by Russia and China. The newspaper also recalled that the PLA Honour Guard recently participated in a military parade in Minsk on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus.
"Global Times," citing unnamed observers, wrote: "Both events showed that the PLA is capable of rapid troop transportation in case of security emergencies."
