Russian Defense Ministry: About 10 ships to take part in Russian-Chinese naval exercise in Baltic
About 10 Russian and Chinese vessels will take part in the first phase of the Joint Sea 2017 exercise, which will be held in the Baltic Sea between the 21st and the 28th of July, the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
“Between the 21st and the 28th of July, in Baltic Sea waters, the first stage of the bilateral Russian-Chinese Joint Sea 2017 naval exercise will be held. It will involve nearly ten ships and vessels of various classes, more than ten planes and helicopters from the Russian Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China,” the department’s report states.
“The primary goals of the drill will be to increase the effectiveness of the cooperation of the two fleets in opposing security threats at sea, working on the coherence of the action of the Russian and Chinese military vessel crews, strengthening the friendship and the collaboration between the Russian Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China,” the Defense Ministry added.
According to the department, on July 21 a number of Chinese ships will arrive in the Baltic, where there will be a welcoming ceremony and several protocol events. The ceremonial opening of the exercise will take place on the same day. The active phase of the maneuvers will last between the 24th and the 27th of July.
“A number of joint actions will be rehearsed at sea, and there will also be drills of the joint organization of anti-submarine, anti-air and anti-ship defense,” the Russian military department specified.
The Joint Sea exercises were held for the first time in 2012. As expected, in 2017 they will be held from the middle of July until the middle of September in the Baltic Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan.