|
Russia's Defense Ministry said four Chinese warships and a
supply vessel teamed up with Russian ships in Peter the Great
Bay, south of Vladivostok, for exercises "to defend sea
communications and areas of maritime economic activity".
It said those drills were part of much larger maneuvers
involving more than 400 Russian warships, submarines and support
vessels that would run until Sept. 16 in the Pacific and Arctic
Oceans and the Mediterranean, Baltic and Caspian seas.
China's official Xinhua news agency said on Monday that the aim
of the exercise with Russia was to deepen "the level of
strategic coordination between the Chinese and Russian
militaries and enhance their ability to jointly respond to
security threats".
Russia's armed forces have been heavily stretched on land and
sea for the past two and a half years by its war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces, despite being vastly outgunned in naval
firepower, have managed to inflict damaging blows on Moscow's
Black Sea Fleet.
Russia has nevertheless continued to stage large-scale military
exercises - including thousands of miles away in its far east -
in order to project power and build defense ties with partners,
especially China.
(Reporting by Reuters; writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by
Alex Richardson)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
