China joins Russia for war games

Thousands of Russian, Chinese and Kazakh soldiers began two weeks of war games in Kazakhstan yesterday, preparing to counter regional threats ranging from drug traffickers to Islamist militants.

More than 3,000 troops will take part in the exercises.

Almost a third of them are Chinese, underlining Beijing's growing clout in the former Soviet republics of central Asia, a region Moscow still sees as within its sphere of influence.

The "Peace Mission 2010" exercises are the largest in three years involving the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a six-nation group led by Moscow and Beijing that some analysts say might one day become a counterweight to Nato.

The SCO, whose member states have a population of over 1.5 billion, or a quarter of the world's population, has focused in recent months on fighting terrorism and radicalism in the region, as well as drug trafficking from Afghanistan.

"Now and for the next few years, terrorism, separatism and extremism will remain serious factors in the stability of this region and the world," Ma Xiaotian, the deputy chief of staff of the Chinese armed forces, said at a ceremony to open the exercises.

"Upholding security and stability in the region is the main aim of every SCO member state and every officer and soldier taking part in this exercise."