China, Russia launch naval exercise as Beijing tests missile

BEIJING: China and Russia launched annual joint naval exercises off the Chinese coast on Monday, as Beijing test-fired a strategic missile into the Pacific Ocean.

The two countries have close diplomatic ties and have held regular joint military drills in recent years, prompting suspicion from Western governments that accuse China of supporting Russia’s war on Ukraine.

The “Joint Sea-2026” exercise began in the eastern Chinese port of Qingdao on Monday, Beijing’s defence ministry said in a statement.

The two navies established a joint command and took part in “command and tactical coordination” exercises, the statement said.

They will later conduct joint reconnaissance, air and missile defence and live-fire training, it added.

Following the drills, the two navies will participate in a joint patrol in the Pacific Ocean, the Chinese defence ministry said on Sunday, without specifying where.

The drills began the same day China launched a “strategic missile carrying a training simulation warhead” into the Pacific Ocean, according to a separate statement from a Chinese navy spokesperson.

It was not immediately clear if the missile launch was part of the drills.

Beijing and Moscow have held their “Joint Sea” exercises since 2012, with last year’s edition near the eastern Russian port of Vladivostok also followed by joint patrols in the Pacific.

This year’s drills come about two months after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin visited China.

Putin said at the time relations had reached an “unprecedentedly high level”, while Chinese leader Xi Jinping hailed an “unyielding” partnership.