QINGDAO: More than 7,000 Chinese troops and 1,800 Russians with military vessels, fighter jets and amphibious tanks will start a three-day live ammunition combat practice tomorrow, according to a senior officer of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The two armies will focus on three scenarios: an offshore blockade with the involvement of both missile-guided destroyers and jet fighters, an amphibious landing conducted by air forces, marine corps and paratroops, and a forced evacuation, with the participation of Russia's strategic bombers Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3 and advanced Chinese fighter planes.

On August 14-16, the troops from China and Russia held their first joint practice on these three scenarios on Shandong Peninsula and its surrounding waters.

The 8-day joint war game, named "Peace Mission 2005," officially commenced on August 18 and goes through three stages, said Major General Zhang Qinsheng, the Chinese chief of staff of the headquarters of the joint military exercise.

The first stage of the drill, which focused on strategic consultation and decision-making, was held in the Russian far eastern city of Vladivostok. The second phase of the drill started on Saturday in Qingdao, where the headquarters of the exercise is located.

According to Zhang, commanders of the two troops adjusted their decisions and organized co-ordinated actions in the second phase, which also included the transportation and deployment of troops.

In the second stage of the drill, which ends today, commanders made a decision to quickly deploy strategic forces in battle areas in order to deal with a common threat, according to Zhang, noting that the two armies will launch the third stage of the joint combat practice tomorrow.

Paratroopsers descend from transporter during the drills in Shandong on August 20, 2005. [newsphoto]

The headquarters of the joint military manoeuvre, located in the commanding office of the PLA Navy's North Sea Fleet, is equipped with big maps, lines of computers, a large electronic display and a sand table showing the battlefield situation.

Chinese troops, including land forces, navy fleets, marine corps, air forces and airborne troops, started to move to the drill sites in late June and began their individual practices in mid-July.

Russian troops arrived in Shandong Peninsula and its nearby waters on August 9. These included soldiers and officers of the 76th Airborne Division, the 55th Marine Corps Division, air forces and the Pacific Fleet.

The Russian military hardware includes Il-76 military freighters, Il-78 aerial refuelling tanker aircraft, A-50 early warning radar aircraft, the strategic missile carrier Tu-95MS, the long-range bomber Tu-22M3, a frontline Su-24M2 bomber, an air defence interceptor Su-27SM, a large anti-submarine vessel, the Marshal Shaposhnikov, a destroyer, a large landing ship, a rescue towboat, a logistic support vessel and parachute combat cars.

Although PLA officers have not revealed the types of Chinese weapons involved, they said the hardware will be "advanced."