2023-07-16 17:03:27
The Ministry of Defense of China announced this Sunday (07.16.2023) that that country and Russia will hold joint military maneuvers in the Sea of Japan. This same day, a Chinese flotilla set sail to participate in exercises whose objective is to “safeguard the security of strategic waterways”, according to the text issued by Beijing.
The two neighboring powers, who share the will to bury what they define as US hegemony, have been close on defense issues since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Beijing refuses to condemn. To strengthen their coordination, the regimes of both countries have organized several joint military exercises in recent months. At the same time, China maintains a cold military relationship with the United States.
The upcoming exercise, called “Northtern/Interaction-2023”, will take place in the Sea of Japan, and will involve five Chinese warships, including the Qiqihar guided missile launcher, among others, the Chinese Ministry of Defense said. Defense The ships will meet in a “predetermined” area with the Russian forces, and aviation will also participate in the exercises – whose calendar was not specified.
Close naval cooperation
China and Russia had already conducted joint air patrols over the Japan and East China seas last month. Those flights led to South Korea to deploy fighter jets, as a precautionary measure. It was the sixth joint action of this type in the area since 2019. At the naval level, this month two Russian ships, Gromkiy and Sovershenniy, had participated in training with the Chinese Navy in Shanghai.
This July, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu called for closer naval cooperation with Russia. China claims to be neutral in Russia’s war in Ukraine, but has become Moscow’s most important ally since the large-scale attack on Ukrainian forces began. The Western allies, on the other hand, believe that Beijing is not neutral and, on the contrary, favors Russia.
DZC (AFP, Archyde.com)
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