China announces joint naval, air drills with Russia

ChinaOn Monday (September 9, 2024) the Ministry of Defense announced a joint naval and air exercise Russia The military drills, which began this month, underscore the growing closeness between the two countries’ militaries as Russia prepares to invade Ukraine.

The ministry said the “Northern United-2024” exercises would take place in the Sea of ​​Japan and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk in the north, but gave no details.

It said the naval and air exercise aims to improve strategic cooperation between the two countries and “strengthen their ability to jointly address security threats”.

The notice also said the two navies would travel together to the Pacific Ocean, for the fifth time, and participate together in Russia’s “Great Ocean-24” exercise. No details were given.

China has refused to criticise Russia’s massive invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, and has blamed the United States and NATO for provoking President Vladimir Putin.

Although China has not directly provided arms to Russia, it has become a vital economic lifeline, being a top customer of Russian oil and gas, as well as a supplier of electronics and other goods for both civilian and military uses.

Russia and China, along with other US critics such as Iran, are aligning their foreign policies to challenge and potentially overturn the Western-led liberal democratic order. With the joint exercises, Russia has sought Chinese help in achieving its long-cherished goal of becoming a power in the Pacific, while Moscow has supported China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

This includes the 180-kilometer (110-mile) wide Taiwan Strait, which separates mainland China from the self-ruled island democracy, which Beijing considers its territory and threatens to invade.

Based on that claim, the Taiwan Strait is Chinese. Although it does not oppose navigation by others through one of the world’s most heavily trafficked sea routes, China “firmly opposes provocations by countries that threaten China’s sovereignty and security under the banner of freedom of navigation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a daily briefing on Friday (September 6, 2024).

Mr Mao was reacting to reports that two German naval ships were set to sail through the strait this month for the first time in more than two decades. Taiwan, as well as the US and nearly every other country, consider the strait to be international waters.