China, Russia conclude naval exercises following North Korea nuclear test
Fleets conducted training exercises off coast of Vladivostok as both countries consolidate their maritime ties
The naval exercises, which took place not far from Russia’s border with North Korea, followed Pyongyang’s sixth and largest nuclear test on September 3 that came despite tougher international sanctions and calls for the hermit nation to halt its nuclear programme.
They also took place days after the US conducted bombing drills with South Korea over the Korean peninsula that were intended as a show of force against the North’s nuclear and missile tests.
The exercises also symbolise the two countries’ growing maritime cooperation.
The Chinese fleet returned to Qingdao on Tuesday morning after sailing around 4,900 nautical miles to conduct week-long exercises with the Russians in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, according to a Wednesday report in the PLA Daily, the Chinese military’s official mouthpiece.
Their exercises involved coastal drills near Vladivostok between September 18 and 21, then sea exercises that from September 22 to 26, the Russian defence ministry said.
The exercises marked the first time the Chinese navy conducted a drill in unfamiliar waters in the Sea of Okhotsk, north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido.