Warships from Russia and China staged firing exercises as part of anti-submarine and air defense drills during a joint patrol in the Pacific Ocean, the Russian navy said on Monday.
The exercises took place in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, the Russian Pacific Fleet reported but the report did not reveal the exact location.
This came after Russia and China, which have formed a quasi-alliance in opposition to the United States and its allies, conducted a series of bilateral military maneuvers last month.
The Russian military joined Northern/Interaction-2024, a China-led exercise held in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, northwest of the Pacific Ocean. The Chinese military also joined the Russian military strategic exercise Ocean-2024 in the Far East.
Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP
Following the conclusion of Northern/Interaction-2024 on September 27, at least two Russian warships commenced the joint patrol with four Chinese naval vessels, taking part in combat training exercises, including anti-submarine defense and rescue at sea.
The Russian destroyers Admiral Panteleyev and Admiral Tributs, as well as Chinese destroyers CNS Xining and CNS Wuxi, frigate CNS Linyi, and replenishment ship CNS Taihu, took part in the patrol. It was not clear whether they had sailed near the U.S. coast off Alaska.
Newsweek previously reported that the U.S. has deployed at least three warships near Alaska to support homeland defense operations.
According to the Russian Pacific Fleet, the joint naval detachment searched for a mock enemy submarine and used rocket-bomb launchers to destroy the target. It later practiced using air defense missile and jamming systems to repel an enemy air missile attack.
The Defense Ministry of Japan also reported the movement of the Russia-China naval detachment from Friday to Monday. The Japanese navy first spotted the group in waters northeast of Okinotorishima, an atoll administered by Japan, in the Philippine Sea.
The Russian and Chinese warships continued their westward voyage and were located in waters south of the abandoned Japanese island of Okidaitojima two days later. They split into two groups on Monday, when the Russian navy separated from its Chinese counterpart.
According to a map provided by the Japanese military, the Russian warships headed into the Miyako Strait, a waterway that links the Philippine Sea to the east and the East China Sea to the west.
Meanwhile, the Chinese warships transited to the west toward Taiwan, where China held a large-scale exercise around the self-ruled island on Monday, engaging in drills focusing on combat patrol, blockades on key ports and areas, as well as assaults on sea and land targets.
During the Chinese exercise, code-named Joint Sword-2024B, CNS Liaoning, the country’s first operational aircraft carrier, simulated strikes on sea and land targets off Taiwan’s east coast. The Japanese military said the Liaoning was spotted in waters southeast of Taiwan.
Newsweek has contacted both the defense ministries in Moscow and Beijing for comment by email.
