The exercises between their two forces have been going on for months. But today it is over. The Russian Defense Ministry has announced that it has ended joint military exercises with China in the Sea of Japan. “The Russian-Chinese joint naval exercise has concluded in the Sea of Japan,” the Russian military said in a statement.
Both countries share a common desire to resist perceived US hegemony. They have become closer on the military front after the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, which Beijing refused to condemn. To strengthen their coordination, Moscow and China have organized several exercises between their forces.
The Russian military noted that between Thursday and Sunday, “about twenty combat exercises (…) were carried out, including joint artillery strikes on sea, coastal and air targets.”
In March, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the two leaders expressed their willingness to carry out “regular joint patrols” with the aim of “deepening mutual trust” in a statement signed. In early July, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu argued for strengthening naval military cooperation with Russia during an interview with a senior Russian official in Beijing.
In June, China and Russia conducted joint military air patrols over Japan and the East China Sea, prompting South Korea to deploy warplanes as a precaution. This is the sixth patrol by Beijing and Moscow in the region since 2019.
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