Navy Day parade the latest sign of stronger military ties between China and Russia

Chinese destroyer joins annual naval display held near St Petersburg amid a series of operations between the two countries

Joint events suggest they have entered a ‘quasi alliance’ that is partly about putting pressure on US President Donald Trump, analyst says

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Chinese sailors line up on the deck of the Xian guided-missile destroyer during Russia’s Navy Day parade near St Petersburg on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 11:00pm, 30 Jul 2019Updated: 11:06pm, 10 Dec 2019

A Chinese destroyer’s taking part over the weekend in Russia’s annual Navy Day parade amid a series of operations between the two countries, suggests they have stepped up military ties, according to observers.

The PLA Navy’s Xian guided-missile destroyer joined about 40 Russian warships for the naval display near St Petersburg on Sunday.

The Type 052C warship had been on a mission in the Gulf of Aden and travelled thousands of miles to the Baltic city for the parade.

It came just days after China and Russia carried out their first joint long-range air patrol that passed through the air defence identification zones of Japan and South Korea over the East China Sea and Sea of Japan – also known as the East Sea.

China’s Xian warship arrives in St Petersburg on Wednesday, ahead of the Navy Day parade. Photo: EPA-EFE

South Korean jets fired warning shots when a Russian warplane flew over the Dokdo islets – called Takeshima by Japan, which also claims them. Tokyo lodged protests over the incident to both Seoul and Moscow.

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