Central Asian countries to join military exercises in China
By Aynur Jafarova
Three Central Asian countries--Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan--will attend the Peace Mission 2014 exercises in China.
Kazakhstan will be represented at the exercises to be held in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia August 24-29 by 300 paratroopers, Tajikistan by 200 soldiers, including members of an unnamed rapid response units, and Kyrgyzstan by 500 soldiers.
In general, the joint military exercises of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will be attended by 7,000 militaries.
The Chinese soldiers will make up the majority of participants in the exercises. Russia has announced it will send 900 soldiers, four fighter planes of Su-24 model and eight Mi-8MT helicopters.
The military component of the SCO has been declined in recent years. Local Chinese media said these maneuvers will be the most ambitious since 2004 and the first major exercises since 2010.