Russia and China conduct joint naval exercises

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping sealed their ‘no limits’ strategic partnership more than three years ago at a summit held days before the Russian leader sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine in February 2022 to launch Russia's invasion of its neighbour. 

This display of strong Russian-Chinese ties sowed unease on the international stage over whether China would become more involved than it should in the Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory in support of Vladimir Putin, which would surely have triggered a conflict on a more global scale. 

Fortunately, this scenario did not materialise and China has maintained a neutral stance on this issue, albeit with tacit support for Russia and its expansionist and annexationist ambitions towards neighbouring Ukraine.

Recently, the leaders of China and Russia reaffirmed the ‘long-term’ and ‘no limits’ alliance between the two countries, just as the war in Ukraine continues after almost three and a half years. 

Proof of this alliance can be found in political and military actions along the same lines, highlighting the close ties between the two countries, both considered authoritarian regimes: Russia, due to the omnipotent power of President Vladimir Putin, and China, where a single-party system continues to rule under the powerful control of the Chinese Communist Party. 

The latest example is the joint naval manoeuvres planned by Russia and China in response to the deployment of nuclear submarines by the United States, the main political enemy of both countries in their quest for world supremacy. 

In this way, Moscow and Beijing are conducting coordinated military exercises to develop cooperation between their armed forces. In the latter case, with manoeuvres planned in the Sea of Japan, according to the Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet. 

These naval drills come just after the deployment of US nuclear submarines. The Pacific Fleet says the naval detachment includes a large Russian anti-submarine ship and two Chinese destroyers, diesel-electric submarines from both countries and a Chinese submarine rescue ship.

The manoeuvres are part of the exercises known as ‘Maritime Interaction-2025’, which are scheduled to end on Tuesday. According to the Russian news agency Interfax, the Russian-Chinese naval exercises have included artillery firing, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft missions, and joint search and rescue operations at sea. 

This episode of joint naval manoeuvres by Russia and China comes after US President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of two nuclear submarines on Friday in response to what he called ‘highly provocative’ statements by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about the risk of nuclear war between Russia and the US. 

This comes at a time when Donald Trump has criticised Vladimir Putin for not giving an inch on his claims in Ukraine, which is straining the relationship between the two presidents, which was presumed to be more friendly and based on greater understanding than is now apparent. 

The international community remains on alert in the face of such developments to prevent further escalation of tension and to ensure that more localised conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine, in which Russia is seeking to permanently annex Ukrainian territories it claims on the basis of alleged historical issues, do not spread to a more global level involving more nations, which would be terrible and a prelude to a world conflict.