Posted on 05/04/2006 4:33:03 PM PDT by MARKUSPRIME
Mongolian government officials are preparing to send letters to Beijing and Moscow to eliminate fears there that a summer exercise the country is planning in the region with the United States will be used for combat training, Ulaanbaatars highest-ranking uniformed official told Inside the Pentagon last week.
In August, Mongolia will host the multinational event Khaan Quest 2006, which Mongolian and U.S. officials say will focus on peacekeeping and disaster relief operations. Forces from six to eight countries are expected to participate in the field portion of the drill, including the two principal planners, Thailand and Bangladesh, according to U.S. and Mongolian officials.China, in particular, has voiced concerns that the event is a disguise for rehearsing counterterrorism or even full-fledged combat operations near their border with Mongolia, according to Tsevegsuren Togoo, the chief of the general staff of the Mongolian Armed Forces.
An example of those concerns can be found in a March 25 article published in the Chinese government-controlled newspaper Qingnian Cankao.
With antiterrorism still as the pretext, the United States uses the opportunity to jointly hold military exercises with Mongolia to establish radar surveillance and electronic monitoring stations inside the territory of Mongolia, one of the newspapers staffers wrote in the piece.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
Why would China oppose counterterrorism rehearsals?
HYSTERICAL!
I'm still in hysterics!
LMAO! Well-played!

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