Chinese navy in Yellow Sea drills after joint air patrol with Russia
- Defence ministry says navy fleet including guided-missile destroyer and frigates took part in ‘multiple days’ of training
- Announcement comes days after South Korea and Japan scrambled fighter jets in response to Chinese, Russian warplanes
The Chinese navy has been conducting drills in the Yellow Sea that separates China and the Korean peninsula, the country’s defence ministry said on Tuesday.
It said the fleet included a guided-missile destroyer and three frigates with air defence and anti-submarine missiles.
China’s defence ministry did not disclose the date or location of the drills but said they involved missile and naval gunfire attacks, air and marine defence exercises, and reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance training to “strengthen the cooperation capabilities” of the vessels.
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It follows the joint exercise on December 14 by Chinese and Russian aircraft in the Sea of Japan, or East Sea.
South Korea’s military said two Chinese and four Russian aircraft had entered its air defence identification zone, remaining there for 17 minutes. The warplanes had entered from the north and flew southeast before leaving the air defence zone.
The same day, Japan said it also detected two Chinese and two Russian bombers in a joint flight over the Sea of Japan before they flew to the East China Sea.
China’s defence ministry later confirmed that Chinese and Russian fighter jets and a PLA transport plane were also involved in the joint patrol.
China and Russia began holding annual joint air and sea drills in Northeast Asia – which they call “joint strategic cruises” – in 2019. In 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they started carrying out the exercises twice a year. The two militaries also conducted joint patrols in June.
“Joint air strategic cruises between the Russian and Chinese armies have become a regular feature twice a year,” China’s defence ministry said of the joint military patrol held last week.
The Russian defence ministry also said that military aircraft from the two countries had not “violated foreign airspace during the cruise” on December 14. Its statement said the aircraft were operating “in strict compliance with international regulations, and had returned to their respective stations at the end of the cruise”.
The PLA’s Northern Theatre Command is usually involved in operations in the Sea of Japan and collaboration with forces from neighbouring Russia.
China’s defence ministry said the exercises aimed to strengthen the two countries’ ability to “jointly safeguard regional peace and stability”.
