Serbia and China conclude joint military exercises

Serbia and China conclude joint military exercises

Members of the 72nd Special Operations Brigade in the Serbian Army and one of the special brigades in the Chinese Army conducted joint exercises in Hebei Province, China, from July 19 to 28.

“The exercises have given impetus to the strengthening of military cooperation and improved the mutual ability of combat teams to perform tasks with foreign armed forces and in the international environment,” the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

These were the first joint exercises conducted between China and Serbia, a candidate country for membership in the European Union, and at the same time a country that maintains close ties with Beijing and Moscow.

In recent years, Serbia, despite warnings from Brussels and Washington, has increased military cooperation with China – in addition to political and economic – by purchasing Chinese weapons.

Serbia has become the first country in Europe to purchase Chinese FK-3 air defense systems.

The Serbian Ministry of Defense has announced that various combat teams have participated in the joint exercises “Peacekeeper 2025”, and have dealt with tactical challenges in urban and rural environments.

“The focus has been on the tactics of using drones during the implementation of special forces tasks, and on activities involving fire,” the statement said.

In 2020, Serbia purchased six new CH-92A unmanned aerial vehicles from China, and two years later three FK-3 air defense systems.

Thus, Serbia has become a user of Chinese missiles and drones in Europe.

During a presentation of new Serbian military equipment in April 2023, Chinese equipment was also seen.

Brussels and Washington have repeatedly expressed concern about the weapons Serbia purchases from Russia and China.

Following the announcement of military training, Brussels said in a statement that Serbia should refrain from actions and statements that are contrary to EU foreign policy.

“We need Serbia to convince us of its strategic direction,” an EU official told Radio Free Europe at the time.

Serbia’s obligation, as a candidate country for membership, is to be in line with EU foreign policy, something that Brussels has repeatedly demanded of Belgrade.

Serbia is militarily neutral, but is a member of NATO’s “Partnership for Peace” program and its strategic goal is EU membership.

Official Belgrade constantly tries to balance foreign policy between the West, China and Russia, which is isolated by Western sanctions due to the war in Ukraine. /REL