Serbia has unveiled new Chinese-made surface-to-air missiles, a display of military influence as Belgrade carries out a subtle balancing act over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The purchase of the Chinese missile system, which went public on Saturday, has raised concerns in the West and some of Serbia’s neighbors that a build-up of weapons in the Balkans could threaten fragile peace in the region. Members of the public and the media were invited to the exhibition at Batajnica military airport near Belgrade, where Chinese and French missiles were lined up next to helicopters, drones armed with Chinese aircraft and Russian fighter jets. “I’m proud of the Serbian army, I’m proud of a lot of progress,” said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who watched the demonstration accompanied by military commanders attending a 2017 MiG-29 refresher stunt by Russia. Vucic said the weapons system was not a threat, only a “strong deterrent” against possible attackers. “We will no longer allow ourselves to be a punching bag for anyone,” Vucic said, apparently referring to the 78-day NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999 in a bloody offensive against Kosovo Albanian separatists. Serbia, which was at war with its neighbors in the 1990s, does not recognize Kosovo’s independence, which was declared in 2008. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, left, shakes hands with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic after a 2021 press conference in Belgrade, Serbia. [Darko Vojinovic/AP] Belgrade still has cold relations with NATO members Croatia and Montenegro, as well as Bosnia, whose separatist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik attended a military demonstration on Saturday. Although Serbia formally seeks to join the European Union, it is mainly armed with Russian and Chinese weapons, including T-72 tanks, MiG-29 fighter jets, Mi-35 assault helicopters and drones. The advanced Chinese HQ-22 ground-to-air system, known as the FK-3 export version, was delivered last month by 12 Chinese Air Force transport aircraft to what is believed to be China’s largest supply of airborne weapons. to Europe. Although Serbia voted in favor of UN resolutions condemning Russia’s bloody attack on Ukraine, Belgrade has refused to participate in international sanctions against its allies in Moscow or to directly criticize the apparent atrocities committed by Russian troops in Russia. Serbia is trying to balance its relations with NATO and its aspirations for EU membership with its age-old religious, national and political alliance with Russia.
