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Russia-China missile defense exercises aim to create common security system — expert

Russia is acting as an engineering driving force for ensuring not only regional but also global security and building a system based on a balance of power, with the potential to deter Western opponents who regularly resort to nuclear blackmail

MOSCOW, December 9. /TASS/. The third joint missile defense exercises between Russia and China are aimed at strengthening military-technical cooperation between the countries and building a comprehensive joint missile defense system, Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), told TASS.

"These are the third exercises of their kind. They are definitely strategic in nature and aimed at strengthening comprehensive military-technical cooperation between Russia and the People’s Republic of China and ensuring an effective joint system for both early warning of missile attacks and the interception of high-speed targets, including ballistic ones, which pose a threat to both Russia and China," the expert said.

Russia is acting as an engineering driving force for ensuring not only regional but also global security and building a system based on a balance of power, with the potential to deter Western opponents who regularly resort to nuclear blackmail. The technological capabilities of China’s military industry also make it possible to develop additional effective mechanisms for joint airspace coverage and space monitoring, using the orbital constellation to promptly identify threats to our countries, he added.

According to Stepanov, given the West's buildup of various types of offensive precision weapons and the inevitable trend towards the militarization of outer space, such exercises testify to the highest level of military-technical cooperation and the peak of strategic trust between Russia and China. "This is not only about the military aspect of this interaction, but also about technology transfer, exchange of experience, and the implementation of high-tech, advanced solutions in the field of comprehensive defense," he emphasized.

On December 6, China’s Defense Ministry announced the third joint anti-missile exercise between Moscow and Beijing on Russian territory. The joint exercise doesn't target any third party and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation, said the statement.

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