Russia to ramp up military presence in far east over geopolitical tensions

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said the military presence will be strengthened in the Far East in the wake of rising geopolitical tensions in the region.

The military infrastructure is being ramped up due to tensions in the Asia-Pacific, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, in accordance with the combat training plan, a two-way tactical exercise was recently conducted at airfields in Primorye and Khabarovsk Krai by units the defence and air force units of the Eastern Military District, the Russian defence ministry said.

Air defence units, fighter, assault and bomber aircraft were involved in the exercise.

The development comes amid rising tensions between the US and Russia over a number of issues such as alleged interference in foreign elections, Crimea, Belarus political crisis among others. It also comes as ties have strained between Russia and China after Moscow reportedly announced the suspension of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to China.

The S-400 air defence missile system is considered the most advanced of its kind in Russia, capable of destroying targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometres and a height of up to 30 kilometres.

Russia's suspension of S-400 missiles to China comes after Moscow earlier accused Beijing of spying, despite the two countries enjoying considerably good relations over the years.

Also, the worsening US-China relations have caught eyes across the world, with the two countries sparring over several issues including the Chinese government's handling of COVID-19 outbreak, trade war, Beijing's military aggression in the South China Sea and so on.