Chinese fighter jets flew over Europe and held the joint army training exercise "Eagle Assault-2024" in the area near the city of Brest in Belarus in early to mid-July.
According to the Chinese side, the purpose of the exercise is to carry out anti-terrorist operations. Therefore, this matter has nothing to do with NATO, but the media in the United States and Western countries say that China's rocket artillery has been aimed at NATO, and it is violent.
So, is this joint exercise between China and Belarus aimed at deterring NATO? What is the current situation in Belarus?
A large number of PLA troops parachuted into Belarus to conduct training exercises
"Sending 7,000 people to Belarus for exercises, what does China want to do?" The US and Western media have questioned China.
A few days ago, the Sino-Belarusian "Eagle Assault-2024" was launched, for Western countries, although the purpose of this time is to fight terrorism, but China is to dance with the sword against the chin of NATO countries, even if China and Belarus have announced the content - the two sides will adopt the mixed Tencent model to jointly complete hostage rescue, joint anti-terrorist operations and other subject exercises.
But in the eyes of Western countries, an army of 7,000 people is better than a war as soon as it is pulled over.
In response to the shouts of the Western media, mainland netizens responded: As a member of the SCO, it is very normal for Belarus to be protected by the SCO, and China has always been very friendly to its friends, so there is no need to make a fuss.
It can be seen from this that the current China-Belarus exercise has a great deal to do with recent international events.
First, Belarus has become a member of the SCO. With the conclusion of the summit of the SCO member states in Astana, Kazakhstan, Belarus has finally become a member of the organization after 14 years of hard work, and as the 10th member state, Belarus has close relations with China. This year, for example, China and Belarus upgraded to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership.
Second, NATO countries recently held a summit and deployed a large number of troops around Russia, which seems to have a posture of continuing the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and not achieving its goal.
At present, the total number of troops on the border between Belarus and Poland exceeds 10,000 people, and Ukraine is also sharpening its knives, and the situation around Belarus is not good.
In addition, Belarus has recently defeated reconnaissance drones of NATO countries. If the other side uses this excuse to change, then Belarus will fall into a passive situation, so when all kinds of big things seem to happen, the PLA will go with fighter jets,
Combined with the above situation, it is difficult for the United States and Western countries not to question this, whether Belarus has already surrendered to China, otherwise what will a large number of PLA parachutes do on the border with Poland?
The United States and the West suspect Belarus of defecting to China
The fear of the US and Western media is that the destination of this military exercise is less than 4 kilometers from Poland, and Poland borders Ukraine, and is even more close to the east of NATO, which is an extremely sensitive political zone.
The location of Belarus is the most important for Russia. Belarus is a key country in NATO's strategic buffer zone for eastward expansion, and as Ukraine becomes more and more determined to join NATO, Russia's space is constantly squeezed to the point that they take the initiative.
Therefore, once Belarus is subdued, then NATO can go directly to Russia, and this consequence is not something Putin can bear.
At the same time, it is also quite bad for the mainland, in case Russia is swallowed by Ukraine and NATO countries, the mainland will face NATO countries directly.
The People's Liberation Army (PLA), which is carrying the Y-20 strategic transport plane, seems to have a posture of flexing its muscles, which NATO naturally cannot accept. That is why NATO asks: Is Belarus defecting to China?
This conjecture is wrong, and China must stand up for Belarus even without what has happened in recent days. As an important member of the SCO, China has the right and obligation to protect Belarus from infringement.
Moreover, for many years, the mainland and Belarus have had extremely simple relations of mutual military assistance.
For example, Belarus has made great efforts to transfer heavy off-road chassis to the mainland and help solve the problem of safety and security of the mainland's air superiority missiles, such as China's provision of low-interest loans, optical and electronic technology, and localization rate in Belarus's development of the "Polonaise" rocket artillery project, and the two sides have helped each other for many years, and Belarus has invited each other, and the mainland should naturally accept the invitation.
The capitalist countries, which have always pursued profits, will not understand this.
In response to the cynicism of the Western media, mainland netizens responded positively that one of the purposes of the SCO is to strengthen cooperation among member states in the field of counter-terrorism, and it is very logical for China to go to Belarus to carry out operations.
In addition, the military tour was not decided because Belarus joined the SCO and surrendered to China, but was originally scheduled last year, when the mainland and Belarus strengthened military exchanges and confirmed the military exercises.
Western media speculate that China's aim is to target NATO
Obviously, the United States and the West have their own ideas, and all their reports are pointing to the thesis that "China will deter NATO by force."
United States reported the incident for the first time, saying that "China and Belarus held joint military exercises on the border of NATO and the European Union."
It can be seen from the context of the United States report that they have focused on the anti-terrorism exercises on sensitive words such as "NATO" and "EU", in order to attract the attention of the people of the world.
Reuters put it more bluntly, pointing out that the exercise took place just a few kilometers from the border with NATO member Poland and kicked off before the NATO summit.
Other United Kingdom media followed suit, "Is China sending a message to the West?" ”
In addition, the United Kingdom's "Independent" even announced the associations of the Western public: the war in Ukraine - why did China hold military exercises in Belarus?
Judging from the above statements by NATO countries, they are very concerned about China's actions. Even though China's Ministry of National Defense has previously announced that this is a counter-terrorism training, the exercise is conducted according to an annual plan and consensus.
It is worth mentioning that the purpose of their emphasis on "Poland" is to make Poland more vigilant against China, but last month, Poland President Duda visited China and had a series of high-level exchanges with China, so the reason for "China relying on force to deter Poland" to sow discord is also not valid.
In general, the United States and Western countries have time to pay attention to the movements of the Chinese People's Liberation Army from time to time, and it is better to face up to the problems they are facing, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is not over.
NATO should think about how to end this war or make it last a little shorter, instead of focusing on the question of who China is friends with, only if everyone focuses on their own independent development, then regional peace will come, and the contradictions of the West will be resolved internally.
Resources:
Ministry of Defense Release: Chinese and Belarus Armies Will Hold "Eagle Assault-2024" Army Joint Training 2024-07-07 Global Network