Russia invites India, China, other nations for military drill despite Japan’s objection over its venue

Moscow has requested New Delhi to send troops to take part in a multi-nation military exercise, which will take place in multiple locations in Russia’s eastern region, including in Southern Kuril Islands that Japan claims as part of its own territory.

If New Delhi decides to send troops for the Vostok (East) 2022 drill being hosted by Russia from August 30 to September 5, its soldiers will exercise alongside their Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) counterparts, notwithstanding the continuing military stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between the two neighbouring nations in eastern Ladakh. Beijing on Wednesday confirmed that the Chinese PLA troops would take part in the exercise in Russia.

A source in New Delhi told DH that India would soon take a call on sending troops to Russia to join the exercise, which would take place in 13 training grounds of the Russian Army in the Eastern Military District of the country.

The Vostok (East) 2022 is the first multi-nation military exercise being hosted by Russia after it launched its military offensive against Ukraine on February 24.

Apart from India and China, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Belarus are among the nations which received the invitation from Russia to take part in the drill.

Russia is apparently holding the exercise to send out a message to the United States as well as other western nations that it had the military capability to ensure defence of its entire territory even as it deployed over 100,000 soldiers in Ukraine for its “special military operations” in the East European country.

Tokyo objected to Moscow’s plan to include Northern Territories, a.k.a. Southern Kuril Islands, claimed by both Japan and Russia, in the list of venues for the multi-nation drill.

The Southern Kuril Islands are located between Hokkaido of Japan and the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia.

The islands separate the Okhotsk Sea from the North Pacific Ocean.

Tokyo already lodged its protest with Moscow through diplomatic channels over the plan to hold the Vostok (East) 2022 drill in the disputed areas, called Northern Territories by Japan and Southern Kuril Islands by Russia.

Moscow of course rejected Tokyo’s objection claiming that Southern Kuril Islands were and would always remain an integral part of Russia.

Moscow-Tokyo relations worsened after Japan followed the US and the other western nations to impose sanctions on Russia after the former Soviet Union nation launched its military offensives against Ukraine.

Tension between Beijing and Tokyo over territorial disputes also escalated after China carried out a series of military drills in Taiwan Strait in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taipei despite objections from Xi Jinping’s “Middle Kingdom”.

New Delhi is likely to take a call on participating in the exercise after assessing the implication of its decision on India-Japan relations.

India over the past few months drew flak from the US and the other western nations, not only for refusing to join them in strongly condemning Russia for its aggression against Ukraine, but also for continuing trade with the former Soviet Union nation, circumventing sanctions imposed on it. India also increased oil and coal imports from Russia.

A few months after the stand-off between the Indian Army and the Chinese PLA started in eastern Ladakh in April-May 2020, New Delhi had decided to withdraw from a multilateral military exercise in Russia, tacitly avoiding making its soldiers in a drill along with the personnel of the armed forces of the communist party.

The troops of Indian Army, however, had joined the soldiers of the Chinese PLA and the Pakistani Army in a multi-nation drill organized by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at Orenburg in Russia in September 2021.