China and Russia will be holding an annual naval exercise next month. The announcement was made on Wednesday by the Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang, informing that the Joint Sea 2025 exercise would be held in the air and seas near the Russian port city of Vladivostok, which lies across the sea from Japan's west coast.
There are no specific dates announced about the maritime exercise yet.
The diplomatic relations between China and Russia have deepened in recent years. China came as an economic aid to Russia at a time when Western nations have imposed sanctions (penalties) on Moscow because of its' Ukraine invasion.
Last week, European leaders asked China to step in and put pressure on Russia to end its' war with Ukraine, which is in its fourth year, but there was no sign that Beijing would do so.
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Japan expresses concern over China-Russia's military closeness -
The Defence Ministry of Japan said in an annual report earlier this month that China's growing military cooperation with Russia poses serious security concerns.
Meanwhile, the Chinese defence ministry spokesperson said the exercise and patrol are part of an annual cooperation plan and are not aimed at any other nation or related to the current international or regional situation.
China denounces ongoing US-Japan military exercise -
Zhang, speaking at a monthly press conference, criticised ongoing drills that the US Air Force is conducting with Japan and other partners in the western Pacific. Resolute Force Pacific is the largest contingency-response exercise ever conducted by the Air Force in the region, according to the US military.
"The US has been blindly flexing muscles in the Asia-Pacific region and attempting to use military drills as a pretext to gang up, intimidate and pressure other countries, and undermine peace and stability in the region," Zhang said.
The Air Force has said the exercise will train its forces to maintain readiness and execute missions under stress to demonstrate their ability to defend the United States and partner nations in the Pacific.
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