Xi, Putin see start of navy drills aimed at enhancing cooperation
Print Edition
CHINA and Russia began joint naval drills in the East China Sea off Shanghai yesterday, a move aimed at enhancing political trust and military cooperation between the two countries.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin attended the launch ceremony.
A total of 14 vessels, two submarines, nine fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters and special forces are taking part in the weeklong “Joint Sea-2014.”
The ships include China’s Zhengzhou and Ningbo missile destroyers and Russia’s Varyag missile cruiser.
Xi said the joint exercises would showcase the two sides’ resolve in responding to threats and challenges as well as safeguarding regional security and stability.
It would also display the new level of strategic mutual trust and cooperation between the two countries, he said.
Putin said military ties were an important part of the two nations’ strategic partnership, and called for enhanced cooperation to tackle various threats and challenges to peace and stability in the region and the world.
The naval exercise is the third of its kind after joint drills off the coast of Russia’s Far East in July 2013 and the Yellow Sea in April 2012.
Unlike those exercises, the Chinese and Russian vessels joining this week’s drills are mixed into three different groups, under the leadership of both Chinese and Russian commanders.
The navies will simulate anchorage defenses, maritime assaults, anti-submarine combat, air defense measures as well as identification, rescue and escort missions.
Wang Chao, head of a Chinese navy coordinating team, said the mixed grouping illustrated “enhanced coordination” between the two navies.
Li Shuyin, a research fellow with the Academy of Military Sciences, said the latest drills marked enhanced military cooperation between China and Russia in terms of both depth and scope.
“This is a clear show of enhanced mutual trust between the two militaries, and of increased transparency,” Li said.
The fact that this year’s exercise coincided with Putin’s China visit and the CICA summit, also indicated that “the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between Beijing and Moscow had reached a new high,” he said.
Li said the drills had become a “routine and institutionalized cooperation mechanism between the two sides.”
He said it was aimed at improving China and Russia’s capacity in coping with maritime security threats and signaled both countries’ “resolve and confidence in jointly maintaining regional peace and stability.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
