{"id":118146,"date":"2021-08-10T10:28:57","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T10:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/08\/10\/amid-us-afghan-withdrawal-chinese-russian-militaries-hold-drill-in-northwest-china\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T13:30:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T13:30:52","slug":"amid-us-afghan-withdrawal-chinese-russian-militaries-hold-drill-in-northwest-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/08\/10\/amid-us-afghan-withdrawal-chinese-russian-militaries-hold-drill-in-northwest-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid US Afghan withdrawal, Chinese, Russian militaries hold drill in northwest China"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

BEIJING (AP) \u2014 Chinese and Russian military forces are engaged in joint exercises in northwestern China as ties grow between the two autocratic states amid uncertainty over instability in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exercises involving ground troops and air forces are due to continue through Friday in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The region borders on Xinjiang, where China has detained more than 1 million Uyghurs and members of other Muslim minorities in what it calls a campaign against terrorism and extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xinjiang shares a narrow frontier with Afghanistan, and Beijing is concerned about violence spilling over its border if the Taliban take control in the country following the pullout of U.S. troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While not part of a formal alliance, Russia and China have aligned their military and foreign policies largely in opposition to those of the U.S. and its allies<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\t