MOSCOW, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov will attend the Russian-Chinese Peace Mission 2005 military exercises, a defense ministry official said Monday.
Ivanov will arrive at Qingdao, China on August 23 and spend several days in the area during the active phase of the exercises. He will observe an amphibious landing near Qingdao, an airborne landing near Weifang, and the capture and defense of designated targets in both exercise areas.
In addition, Ivanov is planning to meet with Chinese Defense Minister Colonel General Cao Gangchuan and the defense ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, who will also attend the exercises.
Ivanov may conduct bilateral meetings with Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) defense ministers, the source said, not revealing any specific details.
Earlier, Russian Chief of the General Staff Yuri Baluyevsky told a news conference in Vladivostok that Russia would participate in joint SCO military maneuvers this fall.
The active phase of Peace Mission 2005, involving units of nearly all branches and services of the armed forces, will be held August 23-25 near Qingdao and Weifang in China. It will take place on land, at sea, and in the air. The training exercises will include an amphibious assault and a blockade of a coastal region harboring terrorists.
Up to 10,000 military personnel from both sides are expected to participate in the maneuvers. Russia will deploy about 1,800 men, a group of ships from the Pacific Fleet, 17 long-range planes, fighters, transport planes, a company of marines, and several non-nuclear submarines.
The exercise scenario envisions three "provisional" states located on Russian and Chinese territory. A serious ethnic conflict involving armed clashes will arise in the "provisional" Shandong Peninsula states. The government will then appeal to the UN and neighboring countries to help stabilize the political situation.
After receiving a mandate to conduct peacekeeping operations, the Russian and Chinese peacekeepers will fight the "conditional enemy," represented by Chinese troops from the Jinan Military Region.
The first stage of the exercises consisted of consultations between military delegations from the two countries in Vladivostok. The sides reviewed the preparations and plans for the active phase of the exercises and exchanged opinions on the current political situation in the Asian-Pacific region.
A general rehearsal involving Russian ships and marines from the Pacific Fleet was conducted in China before Peace Mission 2005 began.
