Russia said in Moscow on Tuesday that as many as 1,800 troops will be involved in the "Peace Mission 2005" joint military exercise with China scheduled on August 18-25.

"Russia will send a group of Pacific Fleet ships, a company of the Marines, 17 long-range and military transport planes, several fighter jets, and a company of paratroops from the Pskov 76 airborne division -- 1,800 in all," deputy commander-in-chief of Russia's ground troops, Colonel General Vladimir Moltenskoi, said.

The general said the joint exercises will be staged in the territory near Russia's Far Eastern coast city of Vladivostok as well as China's Shandong Peninsula and nearby waters.

He said Russian and Chinese will be the working languages in the exercise and China's nuclear powered submarine will not participate due to the shallow depth of the water.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry's Public Relations Department said up to 10,000 servicemen of the two countries' air, naval, airborne and ground forces of the two countries will take part in the exercises.

(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2005)