“The joint Russian-Chinese naval maneuvers (North / Interaction-2023) have ended in the Sea of Japan,” a statement issued by Moscow stated, adding that since Thursday, about twenty combat maneuvers have been carried out, including joint artillery firing at sea, coastal and air targets.
The two countries, who share a common desire to challenge what they see as US hegemony, have become closer in the military field since Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, which Beijing refuses to condemn.
To enhance their military cooperation, China and Russia have conducted several exercises between their armed forces in recent months.
The exercise followed a meeting in Beijing between China’s defense minister and the Russian navy chief, in the first official military talks between the two neighboring countries since a short-lived mutiny by Russia’s Wagner mercenary group.
Chinese Defense Minister Li Changfu assured Russian Admiral Nikolai Yevminov that China is ready to strengthen military cooperation with Russia.
China operates the world’s largest navy in terms of number of ships and far surpasses the Russian navy in terms of size and technical ability.
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