We have been watching the Russia-Ukraine conflict for almost six months. Neither country has been able to make significant progress. They have simply been using all of their resources to prevent the other from winning. And Putin has been refusing to negotiate with Ukraine, so it’s making this an endless battle.
There’s been talk of World War III. Everyone is vested for one reason or another – territorial lines, safety from nuclear warfare, access to oil, and the list goes on. NATO is also watching carefully to ensure that Putin doesn’t decide to attack Great Britain as they’ve threatened or any of the Baltic nations who have been allowed to join NATO.
Now, it seems that the lines have officially been drawn. We know that China and Russia have been pals for a while. However, we didn’t know if China would involve itself in the conflict.
There is a lot of Chinese military personnel being sent to Russia next month. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has announced that it will be sending troops along with military vehicles to Russia.
Why? To fight against Ukraine? Maybe…
Technically, China is sending its delegation to participate in the International Army Games (IAG), which just happens to take place in Russia while they’re in conflict with Ukraine.
Most countries would likely cancel being the host of such games if they were in the midst of a border war with a neighboring country. Not Russia, though. The southeast city of Zabaikalsk will host the games.
China will be participating in such games as “Tank Biathlon” and “Masters of Armored Vehicles.”
IAG has been an international competition since 2015. For 2022, it will be taking place from August 13 to August 27. There will be 275 teams from 37 countries and regions participating based on the way that it is currently slated. And the games, which consist of 36 individual competitions, will take place across 12 countries. China will be host to three of the games.
This is essentially the “War Olympics.” And no, this isn’t the kind of competition you’ll see the U.S., U.K., or any other NATO country participating in.
Instead, you’ll see India, Iran, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Venezuela, and other countries participating. A few African countries including Rwanda will be making their debut at the IAG games this year.
There are going to be a lot of trained soldiers in Russia – along with a significant amount of military weaponry and vehicles, over the next few weeks. And those that are participating in IAG competitions are all allies of Russia.
It would be easy to see how the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could be escalated by the time the IAG competition is set to happen.
American Military News has already reported that “Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have both signaled increased cooperation between their respective nations amid growing tensions between the U.S. and its allies and partners.”
There’s no telling what could happen. What we do know is that China hasn’t directly helped Russia with its war yet…but there’s no telling what they may leave behind once the IAG competitions are complete. Biden has warned China not to get involved, but we already know how useless a Biden warning is with world leaders.
All sorts of things are happening. Russia may get all the help they need…and China may learn a few tactics so that they can make a similar move as Russia by trying to take Taiwan by force.
Stay tuned. The summer isn’t over yet…
