China-Russia Joint Military Exercises In South China Sea

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION/Michael Afonso

JAKARTA - China and Russia held a naval exercise with direct fire in the South China Sea this week. The two countries have strengthened military and trade ties in recent years following US sanctions.

The two countries will deploy three ships each for the three-day drill, the Chinese government-controlled Global Times newspaper said on Tuesday, July 16 evening.

The opening ceremony for the Russian-Chinese naval exercise'Maritime Cooperation - 2024' took place at China's Zhanjiang port, the Russian Ministry of Defense said earlier this week via the Telegram messaging application.

As reported by Reuters, during their naval maneuvers, crews of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the PLA Navy will conduct joint air defense exercises and anti-submarine exercises involving PLA anti-naval submarine flights, the Russian defense ministry said.

Russian news agency RIA reported that the Russian Navy and the Chinese Navy fired artillery as part of a joint exercise.

The drills follow the completion of a separate joint naval patrol in the northern Pacific, which according to the Russian defense ministry previously involved a Russian Pacific Fleet ship detachment, including two corvettes, Rezky and Gromky.

Wang Guangzheng of the PLA Navy told Chinese state television station CCTV the joint China-Russia patrol has prompted deeper and more practical cooperation between the two in various directions and fields.

"And effectively increase the ability of both parties to jointly respond to maritime security threats," he added.

The participating ships departed from Zhanjiang in southern China's Guangdong province on Monday, the report continued, citing a statement by the PLA Navy.