Russian - Chinese joint naval drills

Russian Pacific Fleet’s flagship Varyag
The Slava-class guided missile cruiser arrived at a naval base in Qingdao in east China’s Shandong Province on April 21. China and Russia launch their first joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea off China’s east coast.

Joint Russian - Chinese fleet sails through the Yellow Sea

• Russia  -   Russia will contribute four warships, three of them missile cruisers, and three supply ships.
• China   -    Communist China is supplying 16 vessels, including five missile destroyers, five missile frigates, four missile boats, a support vessel and a hospital ship

Russia and Communist China launched  their first naval exercises in the Yellow Sea, in the latest sign of warming ties between two countries’ militaries. The move comes after the US-Philippine military exercises that began last week.

China and Russia launched their first joint naval exercises, amid tensions between China and its Asian neighbors over regional territorial claims.

The six days of drills are taking place in the Yellow Sea off China’s east coast near Qingdao city, the official China News Service said, adding they were the first dedicated exercises involving the two navies. It also highlighted warming ties between two countries’ militaries and growing cooperation in international affairs.

A joint Russian - Chinese fleet is operating in the Yellow Sea.

More than 4,000 Chinese service personnel are involved in the exercises, and China is supplying 16 vessels, including five missile destroyers, five missile frigates, four missile boats, a support vessel and a hospital ship. Thirteen aircraft and five shipboard helicopters will also take part, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Russia will contribute four warships, three of them missile cruisers, and three supply ships. The exercises come as China is boosting its military spending and asserting its claims over disputed territory, including a chain of islands in the East China Sea also claimed by Japan.

China and several Asian countries also have rival claims to uninhabited islands in the South China Sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and natural gas and straddles strategic shipping lanes vital to global trade. The exercises will focus on joint air defense, anti-submarine tactics and search and rescue.


(Hurriyet Daily News)

Chinese anti-ship missiles as part of a routine drill.