Chinese Equipment in CSTO Exercises: a New Vector of Collective Security

Chinese equipment dominated the published photos from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) exercises in Tajikistan.

Joint exercises of the CSTO countries – “Unshakable Brotherhood-2025” – have started in Tajikistan.

Military units of the alliance members, including Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, are participating in the maneuvers. The observers’ attention was drawn to the footage from the official pages of the CSTO and the Ministry of Defense of Belarus, which shows Chinese equipment models.

The presence of Chinese equipment, including DongFeng Warrior off-road vehicles and DesertCross 1000-3 utility vehicles, has sparked discussion among military analysts.

Such footage emphasizes a trend: Chinese equipment is becoming not an exception, but a standard norm for post-Soviet armies. All CSTO countries now have a certain amount of Chinese weapons or vehicles.

Belarus, for example, is implementing its own missile program, created in cooperation with China. It was thanks to Chinese technology that the country created the Polonez operational and tactical system.

Tajikistan is also gradually moving away from complete dependence on Russia: The country received Chinese HQ-17AE medium-range air defense missile systems, which was another step in expanding defense cooperation with Beijing.

Kyrgyzstan, in turn, also demonstrated Chinese wheeled vehicles and Dongfeng EQ2050 off-road vehicles in its arsenal during the exercise involving 2,000 troops.

Russia did not stand aside – in the face of sanctions and the depletion of its own military industry, it purchased a batch of DongFeng Mengshi armored vehicles, which are already in use in the combat zone, and Tiger armored vehicles, manufactured by the Chinese defense company Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles Manufacturing. The Russian military is also actively using DesertCross 1000-3, a Chinese utilitarian all-terrain vehicle that the Russians are also deploying to the front as evacuation and transportation platforms.

Thus, in the CSTO exercises, Chinese models are already integrated into the logistics and daily operation of the armies of the participating countries – from off-road vehicles to anti-aircraft systems and missile programs.

In fact, a new format of dependence is emerging in the post-Soviet space: where Russian equipment used to dominate, Chinese equipment is increasingly being used.