Russia and China have launched the “Joint Sea-2025” naval exercise in the Sea of Japan near Vladivostok, highlighting their deepening military cooperation amid heightened tensions with the United States over the Ukraine conflict.
The three-day drill, which began Sunday, involves Chinese and Russian naval vessels conducting mock maritime combat, anti-submarine operations, and missile defense exercises.
China’s defense ministry stated that four Chinese ships, including guided-missile destroyers Shaoxing and Urumqi, are participating alongside Russian vessels in operations focused on submarine rescue, joint anti-submarine, air defense, anti-missile, and maritime combat scenarios.
Held in the waters and airspace east of Russia, the exercise includes weapons training to validate outcomes from the prior joint planning phase. The stated goal is to enhance capabilities for “jointly safeguarding strategic maritime routes” and countering security threats in the Western Pacific.
The Joint Sea-2025 consists of three phases: force assembly, joint planning, and joint drills. Following the exercise, forces from both nations will conduct the sixth joint maritime patrol in designated areas of the Pacific Ocean.
Beijing and Moscow are intensifying their military ties to counter threats from the US-led Western alliance, while also strengthening their economic and political relations.
The annual “Joint Sea” drills, ongoing since 2012, were held along China’s southern coast last year.
China’s defense ministry emphasized that this year’s exercises aim to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations.
Since Russia’s military operation in Ukraine began in 2022, China has maintained support for Moscow, refraining from condemning Russia or demanding troop withdrawal.
The US and its allies claim Beijing has aided Moscow in the conflict, but China asserts its neutrality, advocating for an end to hostilities while criticizing Western nations for escalating the war by supplying weapons and ammunition to Ukrainian forces.