China Deploys Y-20 Long Range Airlifters For Joint Military Drills with Belarus on NATO Border

Chinese People’s Liberation Army ground units have begun joint 11 day military exercises with Belarusian forces near the Belarusian-Polish border, which were initiated on July 8 to“improve coordination between Belarusian and Chinese units.” The exercises have been held in Brest, near NATO’s eastern frontier, where tensions have been high in recent months as Warsaw has built up its forces facing its smaller neighbour. Chinese participation in the exercise remains relatively limited, with equipment carried on a single Y-20 heavy airlifter which landed at the Baranovichi Air Base around 160 kilometres southwest of Minsk. The deployment marks a significant milestone in the escalation of Chinese tensions with NATO, as Western Bloc states have moved to expand their military presences in East Asia while simultaneously maximising military pressure on Belarus and neighbouring Russia. Chinese military deployments in Europe have been extremely limited in the past, although in April 2022 six Y-20s were used to rapidly deliver HQ-22 surface to air missile systems to Serbia at a time of rising regional tensions. 

Joint exercises with Belarus come just days after Minsk was admitted to the Chinese-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, an alliance which also includes Russia, India, Pakistan, Iran and multiple Central Asian states. China and Belarus specifically have a long history of close strategic ties, with Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu having arrived in the Eastern European country on August 16 for a three day official visit as military cooperation was further bolstered. The most iconic symbol of these ties has been the Polonez rocket artillery system, which was developed with extensive Chinese support and is currently considered the most capable in Europe. Chinese trade, technologies and investment have played a significant role in allowing Minsk to weather escalating Western economic warfare efforts from 2020.

It has been speculated that the exercises in Belarus could be the first of several involving Chinese forces, as the country not only faces growing Western military pressure, but also sees the Russian military presence on its soil grow. The Belarusian Defence Ministry did not provide significant details about the exercises, stating: “Set against the backdrop of counterterrorism operations, this joint exercise will feature integrated training and mixed-unit drills.” The beginning of the exercises notably coincided with the levelling of unprecedented criticisms by the Chinese Foreign Ministry against NATO, referring to the Western alliance as having “brought extremely high security risks to the world and the region,” and slamming “NATO’s use of China as an excuse to move eastward into the Asia-Pacific and stir up regional tensions.”