Joint Sea-2025 exercises begin in waters near Russian port of Vladivostok and will last for three days, China’s Defence Ministry says.
China and Russia have begun joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan as they seek to reinforce their partnership and counterbalance what they see as a United States-led global order.
The Chinese and Russian governments have deepened their ties in recent years, with China providing an economic lifeline to Russia in the face of Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Joint Sea-2025 exercises began in waters near the Russian port of Vladivostok and will last for three days, China’s Ministry of National Defence said in a statement on Sunday.
The two sides will hold “submarine rescue, joint anti-submarine, air defence and anti-missile operations, and maritime combat”.
Four Chinese vessels, including guided-missile destroyers Shaoxing and Urumqi, are participating in the exercises, alongside Russian ships, the ministry said.
After the drills, the two countries will conduct naval patrols in “relevant waters of the Pacific”.
China and Russia have carried out annual drills for several years, with the “Joint Sea” exercises beginning in 2012.
Last year’s drills were held along China’s southern coast.
With this year’s drills in the Sea of Japan, in its annual report last month, Japan’s Ministry of Defence warned that China’s growing military cooperation with Russia poses serious security concerns.
“The exercise is defensive in nature and is not directed against other countries,” the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet said earlier this week, according to a report by the US Naval Institute’s online news and analysis portal.
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On Friday, the Chinese Defence Ministry said this year’s exercises were aimed at “further deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership” of the two countries.
China has never denounced Russia’s more than three-year war nor called for it to withdraw its troops, and many of Ukraine’s allies, including the US, believe that Beijing has provided support to Moscow.
European leaders asked China last month to use its influence to pressure Russia to end the war, now in its fourth year, but there was no sign that Beijing would do so.
China, however, insists it is a neutral party, regularly calling for an end to the fighting while also accusing Western countries of prolonging the conflict by arming Ukraine.