On the morning of August 31, the "Vostok-2022" military exercise opened at the Sergeyevsky training ground in Ussuriysk, Russia.
As one of the four major strategic direction exercises of the Russian military, the "Eastern" series of exercises have always attracted much attention from the outside world. The same is true for this year's "Vostok-2022" exercise.
The total number of troops participating in this exercise exceeded 50,000, and more than 5,000 pieces of weapons and equipment were invested. The exercise lasted from September 1 to September 7 and was held at multiple training grounds in Russia’s Eastern Military District and related sea areas.
Troops from China, India, Belarus, Mongolia, Algeria, Tajikistan and other countries participated.
According to reports, China has dispatched troops from the army, navy and air force to Russia to participate in the "Vostok-2022" exercise, involving more than 2,000 troops, more than 300 vehicles (equipment) of various types, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, 21 fixed-wing aircraft helicopters, and 3 ships.
China stated that the Chinese military went to Russia to participate in the "Vostok-2022" exercise, which aims to deepen pragmatic and friendly cooperation with the militaries of participating countries, enhance the level of strategic coordination among participating parties, and enhance the ability to jointly respond to multiple security threats.
Russian Deputy Minister of Defense Fomin said at a press conference for foreign military attachés that the "Vostok-2022" exercise is a defensive military exercise and does not target specific countries and military groups.
However, in the context of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, public opinion in the United States and the West has changed regarding this four-year routine military exercise. They claim to "carefully examine" it, and also single out China, saying that Washington often " Expressing concern about the harmonious relations between China and Russia", and even randomly "labeling" China-Russia cooperation.
Some experts said that some Western media’s doubts and hype about the Chinese military’s participation in military exercises in Russia are unnecessary. Especially as Russia is a major military power, China has the need to communicate and learn from it in enhancing its national defense capabilities.
In fact, the United States’ pointing fingers at China is just a typical “double standard” behavior.
Source of the U.S. "Lincoln" aircraft carrier: U.S. Institute of Naval Research website
Just in April this year, the U.S. Navy "Lincoln" aircraft carrier battle group conducted a joint exercise in the Sea of Japan, and even claimed with great fanfare that it would improve "routine Deterrence Credibility”. Why is it legitimate for the United States to conduct its own military exercises, but other countries' military exercises must be targeted?
It is worth mentioning that although the United States is exaggerating Sino-Russian cooperation, its attitude towards India is ambiguous.
At the recent White House press briefing, when a reporter asked the United States what it thought of India’s participation in Russian military exercises, White House spokesman Pierre said that in the context of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, the United States has no intention to cooperate with any country at this time. Russian joint exercises are worrying.
However, the reporter continued to ask, saying, "The United States is constantly putting pressure on China, why not put pressure on India?"
Regarding this question, Pierre only emphasized, "We are worried about any country that cooperates with Russia. But the reporter continued to ask, "Is there any specific action plan such as pressure?" Pierre simply said that he had nothing else to add.
Under normal circumstances, India's participation in Russian military exercises is nothing new. India also participated in the "West-2021" exercise held by the Russian army last year.
Interestingly, neither the Indian Army nor the Indian Ministry of Defense has publicly commented on the Indian army’s participation in this exercise.
Jean-Pierre Source: Reuters
From this point of view, India’s attitude is ambiguous. At the time of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the outside world generally believes that India is emphasizing that it will continue to remain neutral between the United States and Russia.
In fact, during the Russia-Ukraine war, India seemed to ignore the calls of the United States and did not participate in the U.S.-initiated sanctions against Russia. Instead, it purchased huge amounts of coal and oil from Russia.
On the other hand, the United States has not made things difficult for India. Some experts analyze that the United States has to be "tolerant" of India based on its "Indo-Pacific" strategy.
It can also be seen from a series of things that India is not stupid. Since ancient times, in order to deal with a strong person, it attracted another strong person to help it. In the end, the thing failed, and it was used or even eaten by others. It happens all the time.
The smart thing about India is that it takes what it gives and accepts information when it is given, but it will never let the United States lead the way, because they know better than anyone else that it is easier to ask God than to give it away.
