J. "Corsica Lion" joint maritime and air exercise
Exercise time: October 16
Participating countries: The UK and France
Exercise location: The Mediterranean Sea areas
Exercise contents: amphibious operation exercise, and maritime and air operation exercise
Concern index: ★★★
Reasons for concern: old powers including the UK and France tried to maintain their military influence
Military strength committed: 11 warships including the "De Gaulle" aircraft carrier and thousands of officers and men
Expert's comments: The UK and France signed an agreement two years ago in which they decided to strengthen bilateral defense and planned to set up joint armed forces four years later. Through the exercise, the UK and France, both being old developed countries, also expressed that they still played an important role on the regional security issues although the NATO led by the U.S. played the major role in the European regional security. (By Zhang Renlong, with the Department of World Military Research of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences)
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