Serbia-China military exercises end despite EU and US objections

A Serbian military special operations brigade has completed joint training with a Chinese brigade in China, despite strong objections from the European Union and the United States.

The joint exercise took place from July 19 to 28 in the northern Chinese province of Hebei, as Serbia, an EU candidate, seeks to balance its European integration with close ties with Beijing and Moscow.

"The exercise promoted military cooperation and improved the interoperability of combat teams when conducting missions together with foreign forces and in international environments," the Serbian Foreign Ministry stated.

The Serbian Ministry of Defense stated that the joint exercise, announced two weeks ago, involved mixed combat teams practicing tactical operations in urban and rural areas with the support of unmanned aerial vehicles.

"The focus was on drone tactics in special operations, and activities also included firearms, tactical training and mountaineering," the ministry said in a statement.

It was the first joint military exercise between the two countries and the first between China and an EU candidate country.

In recent years, Serbia has expanded its military cooperation with China, including the purchase of Chinese weapons, such as the FK-3 air defense system.

Serbia's friendly policy towards Beijing has provoked negative reactions in Brussels, which has repeatedly warned Belgrade.

An EU spokesman told Radio Free Europe earlier this month, after the latest exercise, called Peacekeeper 2025, that the bloc wants to know that it can count on Serbia as a reliable European partner committed to principles, values, and common security.

"We need Serbia to assure us of its strategic direction," the spokesman said.

As a candidate for membership, Serbia is obliged to align its foreign policy with that of the EU, a point that Brussels has repeatedly emphasized to Belgrade.

Although militarily neutral, Serbia is a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace program and its strategic goal remains EU accession.

However, Belgrade continues to balance its foreign policy between the West, China and Russia, which is currently under Western sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.

Security analyst Nikola Lunić warned earlier this month that these joint maneuvers "undermine Serbia's pro-EU orientation."

Lunić told Radio Free Europe that "the interaction between Serbian and Chinese units sends a clear message to the West."

Brussels and Washington have repeatedly expressed concern about Serbia's arms purchases from Russia and China, especially since Russia's full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Serbia purchased the FK-3 air defense system in 2022, two years after purchasing six new CH-92A drones from China, making Serbia the first European operator of these Chinese missiles and combat drones.

During a military technology fair in April 2023, Serbia unveiled the new Chinese CH-95 drone to the public.

From Belgrade's perspective, this deepening cooperation is in line with its "multi-vector" foreign policy, which leverages partnerships with various global actors to maximize its influence and independence on the world stage, said Vuk Vuksanovic of the Belgrade Center for Security Policy.

Vuksanovic referred to the Global Security Initiative, highlighting the growing exchange in military and police training, as well as Serbia's rapid adoption of Chinese technology, surveillance systems and police equipment.

According to Vuksanović, exercises like “Pacific 2025” serve two important interests: They help Serbia gain international operational experience and raise its profile as a great power, especially in light of the resistance of EU member states to deepening partnerships with the Chinese military.

https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-china-military-training-eu