China, Russia navies to hold drills off China coast

This handout photo made available by the Iranian Army Office on March 10, 2025 shows the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy guided-missile destroyer Baotou (133) (L) during joint military drills between Iran, Russia, and China in the Gulf of Oman. (AFP)

BEIJING: ​The Chinese and Russian navies will hold joint exercises in the waters and airspace off the Chinese city of Qingdao next week, ‌China’s defense ‌ministry and Russian ​state ‌media ⁠said ​on Sunday.
“Following ⁠the exercises, some of the forces from both sides will proceed to relevant areas of the Pacific Ocean ⁠to carry out joint maritime ‌patrols,” ‌it said in a ​statement.
The ‌drills are an annual ‌occurrence, “aimed at jointly addressing security challenges and maintaining regional peace and stability,” it said.
Russian state-run ‌RIA news agency said a cruiser, a corvette, ⁠a ⁠diesel-electric submarine and a rescue vessel from Russia’s Pacific Fleet had arrived in Qingdao to participate in the drills, which would run from July 6 to 13.