Huge war games send blunt message to US

In a Siberian forest in Russia’s far east, a dress rehearsal for war is raging.

Thirty-six thousand tanks and armoured vehicles dot the dense landscape, while infantry troops try to out-manoeuvre each other.

Warplanes fly overhead simulating battle, tracked by radar equipment concealed in the forest.

IN PICTURES: The Vostok 2018 War Games

Vostok 2018 is a week-long training exercise run by the Russian military, the largest war games in its history.

But these “games” are deadly serious.

In the seas off Russia’s eastern coast, warships practice launching Kalibr missiles - the same model used in fatal strikes in Syria.

Russia claims 300,000 troops are involved in the drills, along with 1000 aircraft and 80 warships.

And for the first time, China is taking part. Some 3,600 Chinese troops, 30 aircraft and 900 tanks have been deployed to join the Russians in simulated combat - a significant step in the relationship between the Kremlin and Beijing.

Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Tsugol firing range about 130km north of the border with China, where Russian and Chinese troops performed joint drills.

He lauded the troops for their skills, saying they “demonstrated their capability to deflect potential military threats.”

Earlier this week,  Put met with China’s President Xi Jinping.

President Xi said the leaders are committed to “standing firm against unilateralism and protectionism to construct a new type of international relations and a community of shared future for mankind.”

Both agreed the countries would work together to “maintain world peace and stability.”

The meeting - and joint staging of war games - comes amid continued US-led sanctions against Russia and an escalating US-China trade war.

It’s a massive show of military might, condemned by NATO as a rehearsal for large scale conflict.

While several defence commentators have warned this week that Vostok is meant to test the Russian military’s capacity to fight a major war with the United States.

And there’s no doubt there’s a message for the West: if it continues to isolate Russia, it risks antagonising China. 

See GALLERY for pictures of Vostok 2018.