China and Russia conduct joint military drills amid heightened tensions

• China and Russia are conducting joint military drills along its southern coast.
• The drills, named Joint Sea-2024, began in early July and are scheduled to continue until mid-month.
• Japan has expressed grave concern over joint China-Russia activities near its territory.

On Friday, China announced that it was conducting joint military drills with Russia along its southern coast, following a meeting of a US-led Western defense alliance in Washington where Japan warned of a growing threat from Beijing’s strong ties with Moscow.

China’s defense ministry confirmed that the two militaries had initiated the exercises, named Joint Sea-2024, in early July, and they are scheduled to continue until the middle of this month.

The drills in the waters and airspace around Zhanjiang, a city in southern Guangdong province, are “to demonstrate the resolve and capabilities of the two sides in jointly addressing maritime security threats and preserving global and regional peace and stability,” the ministry said.

It added that the exercises “will further deepen China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era.”

According to the ministry, the exercises were taking place following Beijing and Moscow’s annual plan for military engagement. The announcement coincided with NATO leaders convening in Washington to reaffirm support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.

In recent years, China and Russia have drawn closer and promoted their friendship as having "no limits," with both countries sharing hostile relations with NATO. In a declaration on Wednesday, NATO leaders accused China of "becoming a decisive enabler" of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, prompting Beijing to warn NATO against "provoking confrontation."

China maintains that it is not a party to the Ukraine conflict but has faced criticism from Western leaders for providing political and economic support to Russia, including in the trade of goods with both civilian and military uses. This week, Chinese forces are also conducting drills with Belarus, another ally of Russia, on NATO’s eastern border.

Japan said Friday that joint China-Russia activities near its territory pose a “grave concern from the perspective of national security.”

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