A Russian A-50 AWACS (Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems) aircraft circled to monitor "enemy" movements both in the air and at sea as the joint blockade was mounted, China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov left for China Tuesday to watch the the military exercises, which involve nearly 10,000 personnel from the two nations, Xinhua news agency said, citing Russia's ITAR-TASS.

Ivanov will watch an exercise simulating an opposed beach landing on Wednesday, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry was quoted as saying.

Xinhua said defense ministers and military experts from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which groups China, Russia and four Central Asian republics, have been invited as observers.

A wide range of modern weaponry is being tested in the eight-day "Peace Mission 2005" exercises, the first major land, sea and air war games jointly carried out by the two nations.

They are currently taking place on eastern China's Shandong peninsula and in the Yellow Sea.

"The naval blockade military operation is made up of four parts, including striving for and maintaining air superiority over the water and joint air and sea anti-submarine operations," Xinhua news agency said.

"The third part is the joint submarine, air and warship attack on 'enemy' warships and submarines, while the fourth task is the air defense of surface vessels and submarines."

CCTV video of the exercises showed warships deployed in coastal waters as tracers and smoke from live-fire exercises exploded in the air. The exercises end on Thursday.

Chinese media has said the exercises were taking place against the backdrop of "the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism" -- usually cited by China within the context of its endeavors to control the northwestern region of Xinjiang, home to a Muslim separatist movement.

But experts say the drills are more likely to be aimed at Taiwan. China considers the island part of its territory and threatens to invade if it formally declares independence.

The war games would also offer a prime opportunity to study China's ongoing military modernization, analysts said.

"This is a good time to watch China's military modernization effort, to see what progress (it has made) and to what extent China and Russia can form a so-called coalition force," Arthur Ding, an expert on the People's Liberation Army at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan, told AFP.

"The area we should watch is China's joint operation capability (between army, air force and navy). This is the major area China is trying to make a breakthrough."

Following the exercises Russian military experts would likely be making in-depth reports on how China was integrating Russian weapon systems into its military and operating such systems between its military forces, he said.

The war games began on August 18 in the Russian Pacific port of Vladisvostok with coordination planning. Over the last three days the forces have been engaged in deployment exercises including the dispatch of paratroopers from Russian transport planes, Xinhua said.

Washington, which has indicated unease over the pace of China's military build-up, has said it was closely monitoring the drills and warned that they should not undermine regional stability.

Sino-Russian relations improved markedly following the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the Soviet Union. Russia is now China's leading arms supplier, including its most advanced weapons.

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