Six days of joint military drills between China and Russia end in Sea of Japan

Six days of joint military drills between China and Russia have ended in the Sea of Japan.

Chinese state media said the drills, named Northern/Interaction-2024, aim to deepen strategic cooperation between the two countries and strengthen their ability to respond to security threats.

Drills are expected to continue in the Sea of Okhotsk later this month.

According to a statement by China's Ministry of Defence, the Chinese navy will also participate in the Russian navy's larger Ocean-2024 strategic exercise.

That spans the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Mediterranean, Caspian and Baltic Seas and involves over 400 warships, submarines and support vessels, more than 120 planes and helicopters and over 90,000 troops.

According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, the Chinese fleet is composed of troops drawn from the Navy of the Northern Theatre Command, including the guided-missile destroyers Xining and Wuxi, the guided-missile frigate Linyi, the comprehensive replenishment ship Taihu and three shipborne helicopters.

"Under the pretext of countering the allegedly existing Russian threat and containing the People's Republic of China, the United States and its satellites are increasing their military presence near Russia's western borders, in the Arctic and in the Asia-Pacific region," Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the start of the drills.

He also said the drills, which involved more than 90,000 Russian troops, were the largest of their kind in three decades.

Through the joint exercises, Russia has sought Chinese help in achieving its long-standing aim of becoming a Pacific power, while Moscow has backed China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere.