The Khaan Quest 23 multilateral military exercises conclude in Mongolia today.

Peacekeeping was the focus of these exercises with over 1,100 military personnel from 25 countries, including China, India, the US, and South Korea; with Laos participating for the first time. Participating personnel obtained certification for deployment on UN peacekeeping missions through these exercises.

Russia is notably absent from these exercises, likely due to the presence of Western countries as the Eurasian strategic environment becomes increasingly fraught. Amid this tension, China and Russia continue aligning closer to each other against the West. A Sino-Russian bloc potentially threatens Mongolia’s traditional post-Soviet ‘balance-of-power’ policies which call for the landlocked nation to maintain strategic relations with ‘third neighbors’—the US, India, Japan, and others. It aims to prevent an over-reliance on Beijing and Moscow—China buys 82% of Mongolian exports while Russia supplies almost 100% of its gas. While Mongolia enhances its UN credentials through these exercises—which are now touted by Ulaanbaatar as one of the signature UN training exercises in the world, Khaan Quest 23 also serves to maintain bilateral relations with the US and other ‘third neighbor’ countries.

These exercises are likely to grow in medium-term importance as Mongolia seeks to balance China and Russia with the West.