Poland Monitors China And Belarus Military Cooperation

UNSPLASH/Polise Police ILLUSTRATION/Dario Daniel Silva

JAKARTA - Poland's Foreign Ministry said its country is currently monitoring cooperation between China and Belarus, following reports by the Chinese military holding joint exercises near the Polish border.

We are closely monitoring the long-term cooperation between Beijing and Minsk as a factor that has the potential to impact Poland's security, according to a ministry statement quoted by the PAP government news agency reported by ANTARA, Friday, July 12.

The ministry expressed concerns about China's military cooperation with Russia and Belarus is getting closer.

Meanwhile, Belarus's Ministry of Defense said the drills were part of a anti-terrorism' exercise, where troops would practice airstrikes, river crossings, and fighting in settlements.

The exercise, called Eagle Assault 2024, will be held for 11 days, starting Monday in the Brest region, about 64 km from the Belarusian border with Ukraine. It is estimated that more than 100 Chinese troops will be in Belarus until July 19.

NATO chairman Jens Stoltenberg at a summit in Washington this week said China's military exercises with Belarus in Belarus were part of a pattern.

"It just confirms how authoritarian regimes are increasingly allied with each other, and how China is moving closer to NATO in Europe, Africa, the Arctic, and elsewhere," he added.

The joint Chinese and Belarusian military maneuvers are not aimed at any country, and Chinese authorities hope Poland and Belarus will resolve their problems through dialogue and consultation, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is known to have close ties to Russia. In 2023, they allowed Russia to move some of its tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, and also have close ties to China.

Belarus recently joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which was founded in 2001 to discuss security issues in the Central Asian region.