"Joint exercises" by China and Russia with destroyers start near Japan ahead of HMS Prince of Wales arrival
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Warships controlled by China and Russia are conducting “joint exercises” near Japan ahead of the Royal Navy flagship’s visit.
Military vessels set sail for the waters near Vladivostok on Sunday morning (August 3). The naval formation are taking part in the Joint Sea 2025 exercises, and will be operating in the Sea of Japan.
HMS Prince of Wales, currently at the helm of the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG) as part of Operation Highmast, will be visiting Japan and South Korea imminently for various drills and port visits. China’s Ministry of Defence said “joint exercises” started when three Chinese warships and three Russian counterparts departed from port at roughly 5am.
“After leaving port, the warships quickly established a formation according to the mixed order of Chinese and Russian ships and headed towards the designated mission area,” a press released by the People’s Liberation Army added. Al Jazeera reports that the guided-missile destroyers Shaoxing and Urumqi are among the vessels involved in the operation, with both sides conducting “submarine rescue, joint anti-submarine, air defence and anti-missile operations, and maritime combat”.
Warships will then proceed to conduct naval patrols in “relevant waters of the Pacific”, Beijing said. These Joint Sea drills began in 2012 in order for Russia and China to reinforce their alliance in response to actions from the United States in the region. Al Jazeera reports a statement the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet said the exercise is “defensive in nature and is not directed against other countries”.
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Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Defence, said in a statement on July 30 that the US keeps “flexing its muscles” in the Pacific and is holding on to a “Cold-War mentality”. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer previously called for more Royal Navy patrols to be made in the Indo-Pacific to combat Beijing’s sphere of influence. HMS Spey has since patrolled the Taiwan Strait, upholding the Freedom of Navigation, despite warnings from China.
Following HMS Prince of Wales’ involvement in Exercise Talisman Sabre near Australia, defence secretary John Healey intimated that the UK will respond if necessary should China invade Taiwan. “If we have to fight, as we have done in the past, Australia and the UK are nations that will fight together,” he said. “We exercise together and by exercising together and being more ready to fight, we deter better together.”
The Labour politician reiterated that he was speaking in “general terms”, and said the UK would prefer to see disputes in the region resolved “peacefully” and “diplomatically”. He added: “We secure peace through strength, and our strength comes from our allies.”