First joint maritime patrol between China and Russia
The two countries continue to strengthen their military cooperation as they jointly patrol in the Tsugaru Strait to the Pacific, after concluding a naval exercise in the Sea of Japan, according to local media from both countries.
Last Thursday, a ceremony held for the Joint Sea Interaction 2021 (Joint Sea 2021) exercises began in Russia's Peter the Great Gulf, which ran through today, Sunday.
More than 20 exercises were held, in which the militaries practiced various defense and counterattack strategies and communication between their fleets.
The first time China and Russia held joint naval exercises was in August 2005, in the Yellow Sea, as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) 2005 Peace Mission military exercises.
According to the Global Times, the joint patrol shows the great mutual trust in political and military matters between Russia and China.
The same newspaper points out that such trust is shown in a context in which the United States is allying with other allied powers, such as Japan and Australia, to destabilize Asia, and reinforces the terms of safeguarding regional peace and stability,
On the patrol, several guided missile destroyers, a comprehensive supply ship, and several Chinese guided missile frigates were present.
On the Russian side, two large anti-submarine vessels, an instrumentation ship, and several corvettes were involved.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Japanese Ministry of Defense reported the presence of the Russian and Chinese warships as they were navigating in the Tsugaru Strait, which does not belong to the territorial water zone.
