The news comes as the two allies strengthen ties that have seen NATO label Beijing an “enabler” of Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
The navy and air force will participate in the North-Joint 2024 exercise in the skies over and around the seas of Japan and Okhotsk, China’s defense ministry has confirmed.
“These exercises aim to deepen the level of strategic cooperation between the Chinese and Russian militaries and strengthen their ability to jointly combat security threats,” the ministry noted. It added that the two sides would send naval flotillas to “relevant areas of the Pacific Ocean” to participate in joint patrols, while China would also take part in Russia’s Ocean-2024 strategic exercise. The ministry did not specify a specific date for the exercise.
In July, the two countries held joint exercises in the waters and airspace around the city of Zhangjiang in South China’s Guangdong province. The drills came in the same week that NATO leaders warned that China had become an “enabler” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a result, Beijing, in turn, warned the US-led military bloc against “provoking a confrontation.”
Russia and China have strengthened military and economic cooperation in recent years. Both oppose “Western hegemony,” particularly what they see as US dominance in world affairs. Just before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. they announced a “boundless” mutual partnership. Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Moscow last month that Russia’s economic and trade ties with China were “bearing results.”
2024-09-09 13:33:35