Global Courant
BEIJING – China hosted two Russian warships that had previously sailed past Taiwan and Japan, and the ships are expected to conduct a joint exercise with the Chinese navy during their visit, demonstrating the enduring military cooperation between the two countries.
The two frigates – Gromkiy and Sovershenniy – reached port in Shanghai’s financial center on Wednesday, Chinese state television reported.
Both ships belong to Russia’s Pacific Fleet, headquartered in Vladivostok.
During their seven-day visit, the ships will conduct naval exercises with the Chinese Navy in Shanghai, including exercises on formation movement, communications and sea rescue, the report said.
The same ships, belonging to the Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet, sailed through waters near democratically-governed Taiwan in late June.
Later in July, they sailed past Japan’s Okinawa Islands, the site of a major US military base.
The passage prompted Japan to send ships to monitor their movements, while Taiwan, which China claims is part of its territory, deployed an aircraft as well as ships to monitor their transit.
At the end of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in March, the two leaders issued a joint statement laying out known allegations against the West – that Washington was undermining global stability and that NATO invaded Asia. Pacific region.
China and Russia have pledged stronger military ties, and on Monday Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu met with the head of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, in Beijing.
And just before that, the Russian and Chinese foreign ministries held a round of consultations on anti-missile defense at the end of June.
In June, the Chief of the Joint Staff Department of China’s Central Military Commission, Liu Zhenli, also held talks via video link with Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
According to the Tass news agency, Gerasimov said the two sides will continue to expand their military cooperation. REUTERS
