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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Troops from the United States and a dozen Middle Eastern and other countries will take part in a joint military exercise in and near Egypt beginning on Saturday, the U.S. Central Command said. Operation "Bright Star", which runs through Oct. 3, is the 12th in the series of such joint training sessions over the years. It was last scheduled for 2003, but was canceled that year because of U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S.-declared global war on terror. Central Command officials said on Tuesday about 8,600 U.S. troops would be involved in the exercise,...

ASIAN OUTLOOK - August-September 2005 While Americans have been wondering what to make of the daily news from Iraq and the Middle East and the loves-me-loves-me-not swings of U.S.-China policy, the summer’s biggest story has received relatively little attention. The mid-July summit between President George W. Bush and Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh--during which the two leaders resolved to “transform the relationship between their countries and establish a global partnership”[1]-- initially was covered as a photo-op and remains, in the media’s imagination, a story about nuclear proliferation. But when a sole superpower takes a strategic mate, such a blooming global...

ANKARA, September 5 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has proposed stepping up military-technical cooperation with Turkey, the Russian defense minister said, according to a Turkish daily Monday. The Milliyet reported that Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov believes joint projects would strengthen the Turkish armed forces and contribute to the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries. The minister advocated bilateral cooperation on the fight against terrorism and joint space projects, the paper said, adding that Ivanov highlighted a 1994 agreement between Russia and Turkey as the first agreement between Russia and a NATO member-state. "In my opinion, even this example...

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said today Russia and China plan to intensify military cooperation, including the use of more joint military exercises. However he stressed that Moscow and Beijing will not seal a formal alliance into a military bloc. Ivanov was speaking after meeting his Chinese counterpart Cao Gangchuan in Moscow. The meeting came after the two states carried out their first ever joint military exercises last month in the Shandong Peninsula in China's northeast. Ivanov said the exercises went well: "The overall assessment of these exercises both by China and Russia is positive. These [exercises] allowed us to...

Event Details Participants Russia, China Location Shandong Peninsula (China) and Vladivostok (Russia) Duration 18th to 24th August 2005 Chinese and Russian troops completed their first joint military exercises yesterday with a mock paratrooper invasion on China's east coast. The eight days of maneuvers, with 7,000 Chinese and 1,800 Russian troops, underscored military ties between the Cold War adversaries; the ties have been motivated by unease with US dominance in world affairs. Photographs from Peace Mission 2005

New Delhi, Aug. 26 (PTI): With the successful completion of 'Exercise Vajra Prahar' between special forces, Indian and special forces of the US, military cooperation between the two countries has strengthened further. Expressing extreme satisfaction on the conduct of joint training somewhere in the western theatre, one of the Green Beets, (popularly known US Special Forces), said "we train most of the armies in the world, but it's here we get equally-trained." 'Exercise Vajra Prahar' was conducted over a period of three weeks in the Western Theatre from August 4 to 19. The aim of the exercise was to hone...

BEIJING (Reuters) - China praised its first joint military exercises with Russia on Friday for lifting relations to an all-time high and opening room for further cooperation. Eight days of drills involving more than 10,000 troops from the former Cold War foes' armies, navies and air forces concluded on Thursday with a practice air and ground assault in China's eastern Shandong province. The last event on the schedule was an outside "family-style lunch" of noodles, braised eggplant and fried fish washed down with beer as tank engines roared in the background, Xinhua news agency said. "Through the exercises, the two...

FORT MONROE, Va. (8/23/2005) — Most local headlines in Charleston, S.C., probably won’t grab national attention: a road is closed for construction, local officials debate a proposed law, a man is shot in a small town outside Charleston. But how about this for a headline: “Run for Your Lives: Charleston will blow up this week.” A military training exercise, Sudden Response 2005, is using Charleston as the setting of a nuclear disaster to improve the United States’ readiness if such an event should occur. At Fort Monroe, Joint Task Force Civil Support, a unit composed of servicemembers from all branches...

Russian-Chinese first-ever joint military exercise, Peace Mission 2005, will take place in the north-east of China on August 18-25. All kinds of troops, including naval forces, will be involved in the exercise. Officially, the exercise is supposed to demonstrate joint anti-terrorist measures, although even Russian and Chinese leaders say that the entire event is meant to reveal the nearing tendencies between the two countries. The news about the joint efforts made Washington feel rather nervous, taking into consideration the fact that Russia and China called upon the USA to withdraw its army bases from Central Asia before. Vladimir Putin signed...

Russian and Chinese armed forces are starting a week of major exercises - dubbed Peace Mission 2005. They are the first of their kind, involving air, sea, and ground units from both countries, including long-range Russian bombers. It is reported that at least 10,000 personnel in all will take part. The manoeuvres will begin in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East before moving to the Yellow Sea and China's Shandong peninsula. Clearly, these exercises are a significant step for both countries - even in purely military terms, they appear ambitious. They also add some substance to the political rhetoric that's now...

WELLINGTON: New Zealand is taking part in a joint naval exercise involving the US for the first time since its alliance with Washington broke down over Wellington's ban on nuclear ship visits two decades ago. Kiwi naval personnel have this week joined a multinational exercise off Singapore, which involves Australia, Japan and Britain, as well as the US. The exercise involves a simulated interception of ships carrying weapons of mass destruction. The exercise comes just days after the death of former prime minister David Lange, the architect of New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy. Washington removed Wellington's ally status in 1985, after...

MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian carrier rocket Soyuz-FG, launched from the Baikonur space center on the night of August 13-14, put the U.S. Galaxy-14 satellite into orbit, a spokesman for the Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos) said Sunday. "The spacecraft separated from the Russian acceleration unit, reached its calculated orbit and was placed under the control of the U.S. customer," the spokesman said. The Galaxy-14 telecommunications satellite will receive and transmit commercial TV signals across the U.S. territory and provide Internet-services. It will be a part of the space satellite grouping of the U.S. PanAmSat Corporation. Orbital Science...

The recent agreement between President Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on nuclear energy programme has a definite China angle and the Americans have entered into it with the intention to counterbalance China in the region. Interestingly, some days before this historic deal, the Indian and Chinese Army, which had fought a border war four decades ago, had finalized plans to hold joint counter-terrorism and peacekeeping training programmes. It is paradoxical that China always gets factored into any American security discourse relating to the Indian subcontinent, but the ground reality indicates that India and China are getting nearer to defend...

NEW DELHI Aug. 10 - The Indian Navy will carry out bilateral exercises with the US, French and Russian navies during September- November this year, Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in the Parliament Wednesday. Nuclear powered submarines of the US and French navies and the aircraft carrier of the Russian navy are likely to be part of their forces in these exercises, Mukherjee said.

China and Russia joint exercises to strengthen ties By Mure Dickie in Beijing Published: August 2 2005 16:57 | Last updated: August 2 2005 16:57 Nearly 10,000 troops are to take part in unprecedented joint military exercises by China and Russia this month aimed at strengthening ties between the armed forces of two powers that were once bitter foes. Chinese state media said yesterday the “Peace Mission 2005” exercises would be held from August 18-25 in and around the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok and the Chinese coastal province of Shandong. The scale of the exercises, which will involve...

VLADIVOSTOK — U.S. Navy ships arrived at port here for joint Navy exercises with the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet, based in this city. They will also be participating in celebrations for the city's 145th anniversary and U.S. Independence Day on July 4. The U.S. delegation will hold a meeting with the fleet's commanding officers and the city mayor, and take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Pacific Fleet Battle Memorial, dedicated to Russian soldiers and sailors who died in World War II. The American sailors will also take a tour of the city during their visit and play sports...

MOSCOW, July 11 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Black Sea Fleet's warships are conducting joint military exercises with an Italian Navy frigate to work out tactics for detaining an intruding vessel, said a source in the Black Sea Fleet. The crews of the Italian Espero frigate and the Russian Pytlivy guard vessel also worked on tactical maneuvering and worked out communication tactics during the exercise in the central part of the Mediterranean Sea. After the exercise, the squadron of the Black Fleet's vessels, including the Moskva guided missile cruiser and the Pytlivy guard vessel, entered the Italian port of Naples....

IAF planes back from joint exercise in France Sunday July 10 2005 00:00 IST NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force has proved itself fully compatible with advanced US-built force multipliers after 10 days of advanced joint exercises with the French air force last month. A fleet of six IAF Sukhoi-30K fighters, a pair of IL-78M mid-air refuellers and a supporting pair of IL-76 is just back from France after taking part in the Garuda-II joint air exercises with the French air force at Istres. The IAF performed elaborate combat manoeuvres over the Mediterranean with E-3F AWACS aircraft and KC-135 Stratotanker...

Tuesday July 5, 7:27 PM ASDF to have 1st airstrike drill with live bomb on island off Guam (Kyodo) _ The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force is set to perform its first ever airstrike drill with live ammunition, scheduled to take place on an uninhabited island off Guam, ASDF officials said Tuesday. The drill, in which an ASDF combat aircraft will drop a 500-pound bomb on a ground target on the island some 350 kilometers north-northeast of Guam, will be conducted on the sidelines of a joint exercise between the ASDF and the U.S. Air Force in Guam to begin Monday....

VLADIVOSTOK — U.S. Navy ships arrived at port here for joint Navy exercises with the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet, based in this city. They will also be participating in celebrations for the city's 145th anniversary and U.S. Independence Day on July 4. The U.S. delegation will hold a meeting with the fleet's commanding officers and the city mayor, and take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Pacific Fleet Battle Memorial, dedicated to Russian soldiers and sailors who died in World War II. The American sailors will also take a tour of the city during their visit and play sports...