China has announced joint military drills with Russia along its southern coast amid watchful comments from Tokyo on regional tensions and a Ukraine-focused Nato summit, where leaders labelled Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the two-year war.
China’s Defence Ministry said on Friday the “Joint Sea-2024” exercises began in early July in the waters and airspace around Zhanjiang in the southern Guangdong province and would last until the middle of the month.
“The joint exercise aims 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 on Friday, adding that it would “further deepen the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for the new era”.
The drills are the first the two countries have held in Zhanjiang, a prefecture-level city on a South China Sea inlet, since the Ukraine war began in February 2022.
The news came a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hit out at leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation for making “groundless accusations” against China, warning the military alliance to avoid “inciting confrontation” with his country over “different political systems and values”.
The 32 Nato members, while meeting in Washington earlier this week, called on Beijing to “cease all material and political support to Russia’s war effort”.
The Chinese embassy in Washington responded, saying that Beijing had not provided weapons and had strictly controlled the export of dual-use articles – a move it said had been internationally applauded.
Meanwhile, in its annual defence white paper, published on Friday, Japan cautioned against a spillover of the Ukraine war into the Indo-Pacific region, “particularly in East Asia”. Observers said it was referring to the dangers of Beijing’s strained relations with Taipei, which has seen air and sea exercises escalate.
“Because of that increase in military activity, we cannot discount the possibility of heightened tensions,” the document stated.
A close neighbour of Taiwan, Japan hosts more than 50,000 American troops, hundreds of US military aircraft, and an aircraft carrier strike group.
Tokyo also labelled China’s military ambitions the “greatest strategic challenge” to the world and identified Russia and North Korea as concerns.
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Should China be concerned about the latest Japan-Philippines security pact?
Should China be concerned about the latest Japan-Philippines security pact?
The Chinese ministry also shared on Friday that the People’s Armed Police Force – the country’s paramilitary organisation – and Vietnam’s Mobile Police Force will hold a joint anti-terrorism training, named “Cooperation-2024”, in Nanning in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region from late July to early August.
“This joint training aims to focus on combating terrorist activities and is expected to facilitate the exchange between the two countries on counterterrorism combat and training experience, and foster mutual understanding and trust,” said Zhang Xiaogang, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defence.
Bilateral ties between China and Vietnam have experienced hiccups over each other’s actions in the disputed South China Sea, such as in May when Hanoi protested against a Chinese navy hospital ship being sent to the Paracel Islands. The contested islands are known as the Xisha Islands in Chinese and the Hoang Sa Islands in Vietnam.
But that aside, the neighbours have managed largely friendly relations, with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh recently lauding China as an inspiration for other countries, saying that his country was “pleased to witness China’s strong development and rise”.
“China is among few countries that increasingly takes on the leadership role in addressing regional and global challenges, promoting various cooperation initiatives … and occupying a pivotal position in global production and supply chains,” he said at the 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions in late June.
