China, Russia carried out live-fire naval exercises in South China Sea
Send a link to a friend
[July 17, 2024]
By Joe Cash
BEIJING (Reuters) -China and Russia carried out live-fire naval
exercises in the South China Sea this week, Russian and Chinese state
media reported, with the two countries having strengthened military and
trade ties in recent years following U.S. sanctions.
Both countries were to deploy at least three vessels each for the
three-day exercises, China's state controlled Global Times newspaper
said late on Tuesday, citing the People's Liberation Army Navy.
The opening ceremony of the Russian-Chinese naval exercise 'Maritime
Cooperation - 2024' took place in the Chinese port of Zhanjiang, the
Russian defence ministry said earlier this week on the Telegram
messaging app.
During their sea manoeuvres, the crews of ships of the Russian Pacific
Fleet and the PLA Navy were to conduct joint air defense exercises and
anti-submarine drills with the involvement of PLA naval anti-submarine
aviation, the Russian defence ministry said.
Russia's RIA state news agency reported on Tuesday, citing Russia's
Pacific Fleet, that the Russian Navy and the Chinese Navy conducted
artillery firing as part of the joint drills.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/17/images/ads/current/graue_sda_042021.png)
The drills follow the completion of a separate joint naval patrol in the
north Pacific, which the Russian defence ministry said earlier involved
a detachment of Russia's Pacific Fleet ships, including two corvettes,
the Rezky and the Gromky.
Wang Guangzheng of the PLA Navy's Southern Theatre told Chinese state
broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday that: "the China-Russia joint patrol has
promoted the deepening and practical cooperation between the two in
multiple directions and fields."
"And effectively enhanced the ability to the two sides to jointly
respond to maritime security threats."
The participating vessels set off from Zhanjiang in southern China's
Guangdong province on Monday, the report added, citing a PLA Navy
statement.
The report did not specify where in the contested waterway the drills
took place.
On Tuesday in the same sea, the United States and Philippine coast
guards also conducted joint training, a bilateral search and rescue
exercise, according to a statement by the U.S. Navy released on
Wednesday.
[to top of second column]
|
![](../images/071724PIX/news_m28.jpg)
The Russian corvette Gromky enters the port of Zhanjiang during the
Joint Sea-2024 China-Russia naval exercise, in Zhanjiang, China, in
this still image from video released July 13, 2024. Russian Defence
Ministry/Handout via REUTERS / File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/17/images/ads/current/guzzardos_lda_GENERIC_040524.png)
The operations, involving a U.S. Coast Guard cutter from the U.S.
7th Fleet and a Philippine patrol vessel, included a joint sail and
search and rescue training, personnel transfer evolutions, and
bilateral sailing.
"We look forward to fostering our relationship as we strive to
preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific," U.S. Navy Captain Tyson
Scofield, who commands the Coast Guard cutter, said in the
statement, which added that such operations help develop tactical
interoperability across allied navies in the Indo-Pacific.
China claims control over almost the entire South China Sea,
including the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines
maintains a rusty warship that it deliberately grounded in 1999 to
reinforce its maritime claims and has been central to a recent
standoff between the two countries.
The rising tensions have led U.S. officials to remind Beijing that
their mutual defence treat obligations with the Philippines are
ironclad.
China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership in 2022 when
President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing just days before the
invasion of Ukraine. China has still not condemned the invasion and
has stepped up its exports to Russia, helping Moscow keep its war
economy afloat.
The "no limits" partnership saw two-way trade hit a record of $240.1
billion in 2023, up 26.3% from a year earlier, according to Chinese
customs data.
China-U.S. trade fell 11.6% last year to $664.5 billion, Chinese
customs data shows.
(Reporting by Joe Cash; Additional reporting by Lidia Kelly in
Melbourne and Liz Lee; Editing by Michael Perry and Christian
Schmollinger)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2024/Jul/17/images/ads/current/ldn_smallsda_BUSINESSMAG_2023.png) |