China and Russia concluded a five-day joint military exercise last Saturday, the third such drill since 2005.

But in the wake of the deadly Urumqi riots in the Xinjiang autonomous region in early July, the regular military drill has sparked intensive speculation in the Western world over whether China and Russia will forge an alliance. Some Western critics claimed the drill epitomizes the failure of Beijing's long-cherished nonalignment policy. The US Defense News Weekly also claimed the fighting capability of the joint China-Russian forces as inferior to the United States' military forces.

The military drill, dubbed "Peace Mission 2009", was aimed at strengthening bilateral military cooperation and boosting the two countries' capability in fighting terrorism, separatism and extremism, the "three forces" that have long plagued the two multiethnic countries.