China and Belarus Conduct Joint Military Exercises Near NATO and EU Borders

Belarus and China commenced 11-day joint military training exercises on Monday, as announced by Belarus’ defense ministry. The activities are taking place just miles from Poland, a NATO and European Union member.

The joint anti-terrorist training exercises, named “Attacking Falcon,” involve military personnel from both countries acting together as a single unit in certain stages. Major General Vadim Denisenko of the Belarusian military explained in a Telegram post that the exercises aim to address complex global situations by incorporating new forms and methods of warfare learned over the past two years.

The exercises are being held at a training ground near the city of Brest, close to the Belarus-Poland border, and about 40 miles from the border with Ukraine. This comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over two years ago, which has continued to threaten broader regional security.

China and Belarus have been strengthening their ties in recent years under Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, both autocrats and strong allies of Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

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The start of the anti-terrorism exercises coincided with a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Warsaw, where he signed a security agreement with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. The drills also began on the eve of NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington, where leaders aim to bolster support for Ukraine.

NATO and the EU have long accused Belarus of weaponizing the border by pushing asylum-seekers from third countries to its borders, and the joint exercises will likely be seen as a further provocation. CNN has reached out to NATO for comment.

Belarus has been a critical ally to Russia in the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine. Moscow used Belarus as a launching pad for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, following what it claimed were joint military exercises. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

China has emerged as a crucial diplomatic and economic supporter for Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, facing accusations from Western leaders of bolstering Moscow’s war effort through the provision of dual-use goods, a charge Beijing denies.

The Belarusian Ministry of Defense reported that troops from China’s People’s Liberation Army arrived in Belarus over the weekend. Photographs published by the ministry showed Chinese troops unloading equipment from a military cargo aircraft. The drills are scheduled to last until July 19.

China’s Ministry of Defense stated on Sunday that the drills will include “hostage rescue operations and counter-terrorism missions.” The aim is to enhance training levels and coordination capabilities of the participating troops, as well as deepen practical cooperation between the armies of the two countries.

Over the weekend, delegations from China’s Central Military Commission held talks with counterparts in Minsk, discussing prospects for Belarusian-Chinese cooperation on military personnel training and outlining new areas of cooperation, according to Belarus’ defense ministry.

This demonstration of security cooperation follows closely on the heels of Belarus joining the Beijing and Moscow-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Thursday. Founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to combat terrorism and promote border security, the SCO has grown as Beijing and Moscow seek to transform it into a geopolitical counterweight to Western institutions led by the United States and its allies.

Belarus’ entry into the SCO, celebrated by Xi and Lukashenko during a meeting at an SCO summit in Kazakhstan last week, marks another step in this transformation.

Xi Jinping highlighted the "great strides" in the relationship between China and Belarus, a sentiment echoed in a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his newly appointed Belarusian counterpart Maksim Ryzhenkov in Beijing. Wang and Ryzhenkov agreed to “firmly support each other” on issues concerning their core interests and major concerns, with an ambition to “reject unilateral hegemony,” referring to their shared opposition to a world order dominated by the United States.

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