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https://scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3164278/china-iran-russia-carry-out-joint-naval-drills-amid-rising-us
China/ Military

China, Iran, Russia carry out joint naval drills amid rising US headwinds

  • Three-day exercise in strategically key Gulf of Oman aimed to showcase capability to ‘jointly safeguard maritime security’, Beijing says
  • Drills came at a time of rising tensions with the US for all three, but economic and geopolitical concerns may have played bigger role, says expert
Iranian, Russian and Chinese warships take part in a joint military drill in the Indian ocean. Photo: Handout via AFP

China, Iran and Russia have carried out three days of joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman, their second such exercise since 2019.

“China sent the guided-missile destroyer Urumqi, the comprehensive supply ship Taihu, ship-borne helicopters and 40 members of the Marine Corps of the PLA Navy to take part in the drills,” the defence ministry in Beijing announced on Thursday.

The exercise, held from Tuesday to Thursday, aimed to demonstrate the capability of the three nations to “jointly safeguard maritime security” and promote regional peace and stability, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

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The first such trilateral exercise in December 2019 was also conducted in the strategically important Gulf of Oman, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz – the world’s most important oil transit chokepoint.

The latest drills come at a time when all three nations are at odds with the US over different issues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is facing the threat of sweeping US-led international sanctions if his country were to attack Ukraine, met Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Moscow on Wednesday.

Their meeting came as Russia’s military build-up near the Ukraine border continued to spark fears of an imminent attack, and at a decisive moment for reviving the Iran nuclear deal offering Tehran sanctions relief in return for halting uranium enrichment.

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Russia and China were among the world powers that agreed to the deal with Iran in July 2015, along with the US, Britain, France and Germany. Former US president Donald Trump abandoned the pact and reinstated sanctions in 2018.

During their talks, Putin hailed the “close cooperation” between Russia and Iran in the international arena, while Raisi said “today’s exceptional circumstances require significant synergy between our two countries against US unilateralism”.

Beijing also reaffirmed its opposition to the unilateral US sanctions against Iran as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian last week in Wuxi, where the two formally launched a 25-year agreement on energy, economic and security cooperation signed last year.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian. Photo: Weibo
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi with visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian. Photo: Weibo

China and the US have been at loggerheads over the Trump-launched trade war and battle for tech supremacy, and most recently over human rights concerns – which prompted Washington’s diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

According to Yang Jin, a Russian affairs researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, the joint drills were of strategic significance, and demonstrated the willingness of the three countries to enhance cooperation in international affairs and maintain regional stability.

“All [three nations] face enormous geopolitical pressure and threats from foreign powers,” Yang said. “Relations between Iran and the US in particular have been strained over the Iranian nuclear issue”.

Zhou Chenming, a researcher at the Yuan Wang military science and technology institute in Beijing, called the joint exercise a “normal” event that had been decided upon last year.

However, he noted that it showed how China attached great importance to security in the Gulf of Oman and nearby waters out of economic concerns.

A fifth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, while China has a strategic interest in the Iranian port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman.

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As for Russia, the drills indicated Moscow’s intention to expand its sphere of influence in the region after the decline of US military presence in the Middle East and Afghanistan, Zhou said.

“The stability of the Persian Gulf is very important to China as Chinese goods are shipped to Europe through this waterway, and ships also bring back oil, so China has its own concerns here,” he explained.

“Iran also wants to increase international visibility, and strengthen its hand by deepening cooperation with Russia and China as it struggles to revive the nuclear deal.”