A group of Russian naval ships, including three corvettes, arrived at a Chinese port on Thursday during deployment in the Asia-Pacific region, the country’s military said.
The Russian military vessels, including the corvettes Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov, Rezky and Gromky, as well as the support vessel Pechenga, reached Qingdao in China, Russian news agency Tass said, citing the country’s Defense Ministry.
The Chinese navy also confirmed the five-day friendly visit by the Russians, which is scheduled to conclude next Monday. The visiting Russian naval officers and sailors will meet with their Chinese counterparts to discuss “professional skills,” it said Thursday in a statement. China’s navy released a video via its account on social media platform Weibo showing the Russian naval group arriving at the port of Qingdao on Thursday morning.
This was the second time the Russian navy has visited Qingdao, a city in eastern China facing the Yellow Sea, since mid-October, when two of its warships entered the port following the end of a joint patrol mission with their Chinese counterparts in the Asia-Pacific region.
Regarding the latest port visit, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday it will serve as a “practical step” toward strengthening its naval cooperation with China.
So far, the two countries have held at least two rounds of joint naval patrols in the Pacific this year. In addition to the October operation, which was the fifth time since 2021, their navies conducted a patrol in the region, including in the South China Sea, in July.
In September, the Russian military joined the Northern/Interaction-2024, a Chinese-led exercise held in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, northwest of the Pacific Ocean.
During the stay in Qingdao, the command staff of the Russian naval group will meet with the Chinese naval base’s military command, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. The Russian crews will participate in cultural events, sightseeing tours and sports competitions.
Russian Embassy in China
The group, which is under the command of Russia’s Pacific Fleet, began its long-distance deployment in early October, making port calls in Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia and Thailand as well as conducting drills with the host countries.
Meanwhile, a Russian naval group consisting of three frigates and one supply vessel held joint simulated attacks on “foreign vessels and aircraft” with a Chinese destroyer in the waters close to Taiwan on Monday, Reuters reported, citing a security source.
The Russian naval group sailed northward and arrived at the East China Sea the following day. It was not clear whether this group was the one sent by Moscow to Southeast Asia and China.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment by email.
Besides the vessels visiting China, another Russian naval group, which is composed of a submarine and a rescue towboat, was spotted sailing northward on Tuesday in the waters between Japan’s southwestern islands of Yonaguni and Iriomote in the Philippine Sea.
