Russian and Chinese warships began exercises on Tuesday as part of what Moscow said was a major set of naval drills stretching from the Mediterranean to the Pacific.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said four Chinese warships and a supply vessel teamed up with Russian ships in Peter the Great Bay, south of Vladivostok, for exercises “to defend sea communications and areas of maritime economic activity”.
It said those drills were part of much larger manoeuvres involving more than 400 Russian warships, submarines and support vessels that would run until Sept. 16 in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and the Mediterranean, Baltic and Caspian seas.
China’s official Xinhua news agency said on Monday that the aim of the exercise with Russia was to deepen “the level of strategic coordination between the Chinese and Russian militaries and enhance their ability to jointly respond to security threats”.
Russia’s armed forces have been heavily stretched on land and sea for the past two and a half years by its war in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces, despite being vastly outgunned in naval firepower, have managed to inflict damaging blows on Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet.
Russia has nevertheless continued to stage large-scale military exercises – including thousands of miles away in its far east – in order to project power and build defence ties with partners, especially China.