ASTANA: Central Asian states on Tuesday held joint exercises with land, naval and air forces, for the first time without regional powers China and Russia. Kazakhstan is hosting four other former USSR states for the exercises, which a spokesperson for Kazakhstan’s military told media were “the first of their kind”.
The spokesperson confirmed that all the participants have arrived to take part in the drills. It added that drills are named Birlestik-2024, meaning alliance in Kazakh.
Taking place in the Caspian Sea, they will last until July 17 and involve about 4,000 troops with warships, artillery, tanks and aviation.
Taking part are four Central Asian nations — Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, while Turkmenistan is absent. Azerbaijan is also taking part in exercise, while Russia, traditionally dominant in the area, is fighting a war in Ukraine.
Kyrgyzstan’s defence ministry stated that during these drills, the forces will “liberate an island captured by terrorists” and ” conduct operations to ensure security at sea and to secure infrastructure”.
These nations regularly take part in drills with the two most influential major powers in this strategic region: with China as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and with Russia as part of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation.
After decades of trouble, Central Asian nations have recently stepped-up cooperation, as major powers have paid more attention to a region that is rich in raw materials and a significant trade route. All the nations are part of a transport route between China and Europe that bypasses Russia, known as the “Middle Corridor”.
