Russia and China to conduct war games in the Mediterranean Sea

Russia and China will conduct their first ever naval war games in the Mediterranean Sea from 1 February 2014.

The joint naval drill, involves Russia’s heavy nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Great and Chinese frigate Yancheng.

The main purpose of the drill is to enhance the interoperability of Russian and Chinese combat ships for joint operation in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The Russian and Chinese warships will perform joint manoeuvring, in the course of which the Russian cruiser will set up a smokescreen and ship-borne helicopters of the two vessels will practise landing on each other’s deck.

On 7 January 2014, both countries escorted the first consignment of Syrian chemical weapons materials that has left the country on a Danish ship. This became the first practical interaction between the Russian and the Chinese navies.

In July 2013, Russia and China held a three-day joint naval military exercise. The Naval Interaction-2013 in the open waters off the Port of Vladivostok, Russia. It became China’s largest overseas military exercises in terms of the number of troops deployed outside its territorial waters.

In recent years, the Chinese navy has participated in a series of joint exercises in the Pacific and Indian oceans, while Chinese ground forces have taken part in land war games organized by the SCO.