The China–Russia "Joint Sea-2026" joint exercise kicked off Monday morning at a Chinese naval port in Qingdao, Shandong province.
China's Ministry of National Defense said that the drill, part of the annual cooperation plan between the two militaries, is aimed at jointly responding to security challenges and safeguarding regional peace and stability.
A Joint Director’s Department and a Joint Command were established for the drill, staffed by mixed formations from the navies of both countries.
After the opening ceremony on Monday, the two navies conducted command simulations and tactical coordination exercises. The Joint Command held in-depth discussions on key training subjects for the at-sea phase and finalized coordination points. Next, participating forces from both sides will move to nearby sea and airspace off Qingdao to conduct joint exercises in reconnaissance and early warning and air and missile defense, and live-weapons training.