China, Russia and Iran stage navy anti-piracy drills as Red Sea attacks escalate

Joint exercises in Gulf of Oman focus on rescuing hijacked merchant ships and feature Chinese and Iranian special ops teams and PLA destroyer

Observer says emphasis on piracy is ‘clever bit of marketing’ for military cooperation between ‘international pariahs’ Tehran and Moscow

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Iranian sailors pilot a speedboat near a Chinese replenishment ship during the “Maritime Security Belt – 2024” exercise in the Gulf of Oman. Photo: AFP / Iranian Defence Ministry

Published: 4:25pm, 15 Mar 2024Updated: 5:30pm, 15 Mar 2024

China has conducted a joint naval exercise with Iran and Russia focused on firing and anti-piracy rescue operations, according to China’s official military newspaper.

The PLA Daily reported on Thursday that the three countries were holding the joint drill, named “Maritime Security Belt – 2024”, from March 11 to 15 in the Gulf of Oman in the Indian Ocean, near Chabahar port in southern Iran.

The five-day joint exercise included training on firing at sea and rescue operations for hijacked merchant ships.

On Tuesday, the three navies conducted firing training against targets set up by an Iranian warship, with the Chinese side serving as the course commander. The drill continued in the evening with night shooting and light communication exercises.

On Wednesday, the joint exercises focused on anti-piracy operations. Warships from the three countries formed two task forces and manoeuvred towards the two merchant ships, represented by Iranian vessels.

Under the command of the guided-missile destroyer Urumqi of the 45th Chinese naval escort task force, six vessels from the People’s Liberation Army and Iranian navy conducted manoeuvring and reconnaissance activities. These included evidence collection and identifying pirates and their activities.