The Kremlin may have opted to keep a strategic silence in response to US President Donald Trump’s statement that he deployed two US Navy nuclear submarines to “appropriate regions”, but it kicked off a drill with China in the Sea of Japan, near the Russian port of Vladivostok, to carry out multi-domain exercises. The drills, though scheduled long before Trump’s statement, are being projected as a partnership that can counterbalance the “US-led global order”.
A statement by the Kremlin said the Russian and Chinese vessels were moving in a joint detachment, including a large Russian anti-submarine ship and two Chinese destroyers.
A report from China Bugle, an official media account affiliated with the PLA News Media Centre, said Chinese rescue ship Xihu and Russian counterpart Igor Belousov were the first to leave port. They were followed by China’s Type 052D guided-missile destroyers Shaoxing and Urumqi, and Russia’s large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and the corvette Rezky.
The vehicles then formed a mixed China-Russia formation and proceeded to the designated mission area. They also established communication links and exchanged vital information on undersea offense and defense, as well as submarine rescue operations, according to the report.
They would also conduct artillery firing, practice anti-submarine and air defence missions, and improve joint search and rescue operations at sea, reports said. After the drills, the two countries will conduct naval patrols in “relevant waters of the Pacific.
Though Russia and China have frequently held such drills since their relations deepened in 2022, the timing of the joint exercise has piqued interest, especially since Trump’s overt threat after being triggered by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Medvedev’s statement.
However, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson said the drill was a part of the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries, “which is not targeted at any third party, and is unrelated to the current international and regional situations”.
Putin’s answer for Trump’s submarines? Kremlin begins joint war exercise with China in Sea of Japan
