Russian-Chinese navy drills in the South China Sea

12.09.2016

Joint exercises began today and will last a week.

Complex maneuvers

The interaction between the two countries’ navies will include surface and underwater activities, as well as rescue operations. According to the Chinese side, these exercises will be more intense than all previous ones. They will practice carrying out the seizure and control of islands. The command level will also be higher.

The exercises are aimed at coordinating the Russian and Chinese militaries to repel threats at sea. Earlier in August, both countries’ navies already carried out similar maneuvers in the Far East.

The two countries’ growing interaction

Russian Security Council head Nikolai Patrushev has arrived in China parallel to the maneuvers. He will discuss issues of cooperation between the two countries’ law enforcement agencies.

The two states are developing a multipolar approach to international relations and hold similar positions on a range of topics from the Syrian crisis to non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states, and they reject US dominance.

The Atlanticists’ hysteria

Russia and China’s holding of joint exercises has caused an inappropriate reaction in the United States, especially among the neoconservatives. The National Interest magazine even wrote that China is going to seize the Hawaiian Islands and most of the Pacific Ocean in the future.

It is obvious that Washington is not satisfied with the convergence of China and Russia and their coordinated policies on many issues, including at the UN Security Council.