When the US and Russian warships engaged in a 'close-up nerve war' in the northern part of the East Sea yesterday (15th), it was understood that an annual joint exercise between China and Russia was in progress in the nearby waters.



According to Chinese media such as Chinese CCTV, the China-Russia Maritime Union-2021 training was held on the 15th in the sea and in the air near Russia's Peter the Great Bay, facing the East Sea, following the opening ceremony on the 14th.



In addition to communication training, passing through a mine threat zone, removing floating mines, joint maneuvering, and combined anti-submarine training, live fire drills to hit sea targets were also conducted.



The exercise, which focuses on maintaining the security of strategic sea transport routes, includes the Nanchang, a missile destroyer developed independently by China, the Kunming, a missile destroyer with stealth function, the Liuzhou, a missile frigate with a vertical launch air defense missile system, and the Chinese missile destroyer. The Dongpinghu ship, a comprehensive supply ship with a displacement of 20,000 tons, designed independently, and others participated.



On the Russian side, the large anti-submarine ship Pantereyev, minesweepers, submarines and rescue tugs participated.


This exercise was part of a joint maritime exercise conducted by the Chinese and Russian navies several times since 2012.



Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on the 15th that the US destroyer 'Chaffee' entered the sea area declared to be banned from sailing in the East Sea near Vladivostok and showed an appearance trying to invade Russian territorial waters.



As a result of this, the Russian side claimed that the Russian warship had begun to stop it and that the distance between the U.S. and Russian ships was narrowed to 60 meters, creating an urgent situation.



On the other hand, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command countered that "Chapie was conducting routine operations in the high seas of the East Sea, and a Russian destroyer entered within 65 yards (60 m) of Chaffee." . 



(Photo = Captured from China Central TV / Yonhap News)