New Delhi: A Chinese naval fleet set off on Sunday to take part in a joint naval and air drill with Russia in the Sea of Japan, Chinese Defence Ministry said, as reported by news agency Reuters. The drill, codenamed “Northern/Interaction-2023”, aims at “safeguarding the security of strategic waterways”, and marks an enhanced military cooperation between the two countries.
According to the report, the Chinese naval fleet, comprising five warships and four ship-borne helicopters, left the eastern port of Qingdao and will join the Russian forces at a “predetermined area”, the Chinese Defence ministry stated on Sunday.
The Ministry had earlier announced the Chinese fleet will join the Russian forces to take part in a joint naval and air exercise. This would be the first time that both Russian forces would take part in the drill, as per the report.
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Two Russian warships, Gromkiy and Sovershenniy, taking part in the joint exercise, had earlier conducted separate training with the Chinese navy on formation movements, communication and sea rescues in Shanghai. Before that, the ships had sailed passed Taiwan and Japan, that prompted both Taipei and Tokyo to monitor them.
According to the Reuters report, days before Russia invaded Ukraine in February in 2022, President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping had announced a “no limits” partnership that was aimed at “countering the influence of the United States”, and one notable area of this partnership was military cooperation.
Notably, earlier this month, when China’s Defence Minister Li Shangfu met the head of Russian navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov in Beijing, both sides reiterated pledges to boost the military cooperation, reported Reuters.