Chinese and Russian troops launched a drill amphibious landing in east China's Shandong Province on Wednesday morning as part of the joint military exercise dubbed "Peace Mission 2005".

After a day of naval exercises with ships and planes practicing air and sea blockades, the joint forces made an amphibious landing.

At 11:08AM, the air forces took the lead in attacking military facilities on the shore. Fighters and bombers targeted missile launchers, accompanied by destroyers that flanked the shore with canons.

The joint aircraft formation, covered by fighters, made saturation bombings and destroyed major forward and deep targets, disabling defense systems. Helicopters then swept off land blocks clearing the way for Chinese and Russian joint marine corps.

Armored landing vehicles carrying hundreds of marines charged forward on the shore accompanied by firing cover from amphibious tanks and helicopters.

Hundreds of paratroopers were carried by three transporters into the heart of "enemy" territory. At the same time, 18 helicopters transported a special force squadron for an assault on the target's left rear.

Half an hour later, covered by 12 armored helicopters, a Russian marine company together with a Chinese amphibious battalion and more than 40 landing vehicles set foot on the beach. The first echelon of rangers captured the forward positions on the beach in two minutes.

At 11:52AM, three landing craft of the joint fleet took a second echelon of 32 armored carriers to the beach, supplying infantry to secure the consolidated positions.

At 12:10PM, it was "mission accomplished".

General Ge Zhenfeng, general director of the Chinese side of the exercise, said he was delighted with the smooth cooperation between Chinese and Russian troops.

General Vladimir Moltenskoi, deputy chief of Russia's Land Forces in charge of the exercise, said that soldiers and officers of both sides had done excellent jobs by completing all the planned missions with precision in very bad weather.

Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan and his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov observed the exercise.

China and Russia are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a trans-national cooperation framework. The other four members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

SCO delegates observing the joint military exercise include Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Khairullaev, Kyrgyz Defense Minister Ismail Isakov, Kazakh Deputy Defense Minister Abai Tasbulatov and Uzbekistan Deputy Defense Minister R. Niyazov.

(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2005)