Russia, China kick off joint military exercises , dares US

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Russia says it launched massive naval and air drills Tuesday that span a huge swath of oceans and involve more than 400 naval vessels, at least 120 military aircraft and upwards of 90,000 troops.

The large-scale military exercise, dubbed ?Ocean-2024,? includes forces from China and will run until September 16 with at least 15 countries invited to observe the maneuvers, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia pays ?special attention? to strengthening military cooperation with ?friendly states? and warned the United States not to try and outgun Moscow in Asia.

"Under the pretext of countering the allegedly existing Russian threat and containing the People's Republic of China, the United States and its satellites are increasing their military presence near Russia's western borders, in the Arctic, and in the Asia-Pacific region,? Putin said in a televised remark to Russian military officials on Tuesday. He said Washington and its allies are "openly declaring their plans to deploy medium- and shorter-range missiles in the so-called forward zones.?