Russia and China have concluded marine drills in the East China Sea, after participating in week-long joint exercises, wherein they learned skills like capturing an enemy submarine with depth charges and firing artillery at a warship, Russia’s defense ministry said.
The exercises which ran from December 21-27, entitled “Maritime Interaction-2022”, featured Russia’s Pacific Fleet and were conducted in waters off Zhoushan and Taizhou in China’s Zhejiang Province, China’s official news agency Xinhua reported.
“Detachments of warships of the Pacific Fleet and the Naval Forces of the People’s Liberation Army of China have completed practical tasks within the framework of the bilateral naval exercise,” said Russia’s defense ministry.
“The ships of the two countries, with the support of anti-submarine aviation, jointly searched for a submarine of a conditional enemy and fired a volley of jet depth charges,” the ministry added.
The ministry published a video that showcased squadrons of Russian and Chinese warships in the East China Sea, with Russian sailors communicating in Mandarin to the Chinese side and Russian ships launching missiles.
Following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia, once the top dog in the global Communist hierarchy, is now second fiddle to a rising China that has already taken the lead in some 21st-century technology.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping will talk with President Vladimir Putin before the end of the year, TASS news agency said.
