China navy ships depart for joint drills with Russia
14 Sep 2017 4:27 PM GMT
Beijing: Four Chinese navy ships have departed for joint drills with Russia in the latest sign of growing cooperation between the two militaries that could challenge the US armed forces' role in the Asia-Pacific.
A destroyer, missile frigate, supply ship and submarine rescue ship departed Wednesday from the port of Qingdao, home to China's north sea fleet, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The drills are being held in the Sea of Japan near the Korean Peninsula and the Sea of Okhotsk off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, Xinhua said.
The exercises are the second stage of an annual joint drill, the first part of which was held July 22-27 in the Baltic Sea the first time the countries had exercised together in the northern European waterbody.
Russia and China are closely aligned on many diplomatic and security issues, with both countries calling for a negotiated settlement of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, preceded by North Korea suspending its nuclear and missile activities in return for the US and South Korea halting their regular large-scale wargames.
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