Russia announces joint naval exercises with China
A warship of the Russian fleet leaves Vladivostok to participate in the Russian-Chinese naval exercises.
À A.F.B
Moscow announced yesterday that a number of its warships will participate in naval maneuvers this week with Beijing, while Russia and China are deepening relations amid pressure from the West.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that “the exercises will take place from December 21 to 27 in the East China Sea, and their main goal is to strengthen maritime cooperation” between Russia and China.
According to a statement, it will include firing live missiles, artillery and anti-submarine exercises.
He added, "The main objective of the exercises is to enhance maritime cooperation between the Russian Federation and the People's Republic of China, and to maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region."
He added that China will send two destroyers, patrol ships, a supply ship and a submarine.
"Aircraft and helicopters of the Naval Aviation Forces of the Pacific Fleet and the People's Liberation Navy will participate in the maneuvers," the ministry added.
This comes at a time when the Russian gas giant, Gazprom, announced in a statement via the Telegram application that its natural gas exports to China via the "Power of Siberia" pipeline set a new daily historical record on December 17.
Bloomberg News said that the daily gas flow to China amounted to 6.16% above the contracted quantities.
Gazprom increased the daily flow to China this month compared to the previous plan, at the request of that country.
Bloomberg news agency calculations based on data published on Thursday indicated that the Russian gas giant shipped an average of 173 million cubic meters per day to countries outside the former Soviet Union in the period from December 1 to December 15.
This is 30% higher than the average today in November.
Former Cold War allies with a stormy relationship, China and Russia have converged in recent years as part of what they call a "borderless" relationship that balances US global hegemony.
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