Chinese troops to join Brazil’s military drills with US forces

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BRASILIA (Reuters) -Chinese troops will take part for the first time in Brazil’s annual military exercises this week that also include U.S. forces, the Brazilian Navy said on Tuesday.

Pentagon spokesperson Major Pete Nguyen said, however, U.S. and Chinese forces would not be training together at the Brazil’s “Operation Formosa” exercises.

“While the PRC are also present at the exercise, U.S. troops are not training alongside or with the PRC,” Nguyen said. The PRC, or People’s Republic of China, is the country’s official name.

China sent observers last year to the Operation Formosa exercises, but will have troops on the ground this year, the Brazilian Navy, which coordinates the drills, said in a statement. U.S. troops participated as well in 2023.

“In Operation Formosa 2024 we have for the first time the participation of portions of troops made up of both friendly nations,” the Navy said of the two superpowers present this year. It did not detail the size of their contingents.

The Brazilian military will deploy 3,000 troops in the three-day exercises starting on Wednesday, and they will train using aircraft, tanks, armored and amphibious vehicles, artillery and missile and rocket launchers, it said.

The exercises, which use live ammunition, take place outside the town on Formosa, located 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Brazil’s capital Brasilia.

Invited military personnel participate in workshops to exchange experiences, the Navy said, and observers from eight countries will attend the exercises, including Argentina, France, Italy, Pakistan and South Africa.

The Pentagon’s Nguyen said U.S. Marines were only at Formosa to train with their Brazilian partners.

“By working side-by-side with our Brazilian counterparts, we are enhancing our collective ability to respond to regional security challenges,” he said.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; additional reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)