Russia and China send warships to disputed South China Sea

The Chinese Navy has said the quasi-alliance between China and Russia is conducting joint naval activities in the South China Sea.

The Chinese navy reported details of its joint patrol with the Russian navy in a post on a social platform on Monday, its fourth since 2021. The navy said the joint fleet had entered the South China Sea via the Balintang Strait the previous day.

According to reports, the formation first began patrolling the waters around South Korea’s Jeju Island in the East China Sea, before passing east through the Osumi Strait near Japan and heading south into the South China Sea.

The U.S. Navy regularly conducts joint exercises and patrols with allied navies in the South China Sea, but China rarely does so in the disputed waters it considers its “backyard.”

The Balintang Strait is located in the Luzon Strait, a strategically important area between Taiwan to the north, the Philippines to the south, the South China Sea to the west, and the Philippine Sea to the east.

Both the Philippines and Taiwan are U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region. Taiwan is a self-ruling island that Beijing claims as a separate territory. The Philippines is in a territorial dispute with China in the South China Sea.

China deploys Type 052D destroyer YinchuanType 054A frigate Hengshui Type 903 Resupply Ship Weishan Lake Russia has deployed a Steregushchiy-class corvette for the joint patrol. Sovercheny, That’s what the report said.

The joint patrol deepened mutual understanding and traditional friendly relations between the Chinese and Russian militaries, the Chinese navy said, adding that the two countries had enhanced their capabilities to jointly respond to maritime security threats.

China’s defence ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the joint patrols in the western and northern Pacific were not aimed at third parties and had “no relation to the current international or regional situation”.

It was not immediately clear whether the joint patrol had ended. Newsweek The Chinese and Russian defense ministries were contacted by email seeking comment.

The Chinese and Russian navies kicked off the Joint Maritime Exercise 2024 on Sunday in Zhanjiang, a city in southern China’s Guangdong province on the South China Sea. The exercise series began in 2012.

The Chinese navy said the two navies continue to improve their capabilities to conduct joint military operations, while the Russian navy said the joint exercises could contribute to maintaining maritime and regional security.

According to the Chinese navy, the two warships will conduct anchorage defense, joint reconnaissance and early warning, joint search and rescue, and joint air and missile defense training, as well as weapons training.

A total of seven ships are taking part in the exercise, according to Chinese state media. Global Times Four of the ships were from the Chinese side, including the Type 052D destroyer. NanningType 054A frigate Xianning and Daliand Weishan Lake.

Russia sent a Steregushchiy-class corvette Gromkey and Lezkey And the oiler IrkutThe exercise is scheduled to run until mid-July, the media reported.

of Global Times China’s foreign ministry, citing domestic military experts, said on Sunday that joint Chinese and Russian naval activities were routine and demonstrated the broad scope of naval cooperation.

Currently, U.S. Navy aircraft carriers are not deployed to the South China Sea as they are on missions or undergoing maintenance elsewhere.

In a photo released by the US Department of Defense, USS AmericaThe Apollo 11, an America-class amphibious assault ship that also functions as a light aircraft carrier, conducted flight operations carrying F-35B stealth fighter jets while sailing through the Philippine Sea on Saturday.