Russia has begun live-fire military exercises involving troops from China and other nations. The week-long war games in Russia’s far east and the Sea of Japan involve some 50,000 troops from Russia, China, several former Soviet republics, as well as Algeria, Syria, Mongolia, Laos and Nicaragua. India also sent a small 75-soldier-strong contingent to join the drills.

This comes as a combined force of South Korean and U.S. troops are staging their largest live-fire exercises in years less than 20 miles from North Korea’s border, and just two weeks after troops from Australia and Canada joined U.S.-led war games off the coast of Hawaii with the militaries of South Korea and Japan.