Chinese naval fleet arrives in Russia for joint drill

A Chinese naval fleet arrived at Russia's Ussuri Bay in the wee hours of Thursday for a joint military drill with the Russian Navy scheduled later in the day.

The fleet consists of China's first Type 055 guided-missile destroyer Nanchang, guided missile destroyer Kunming, frigate Binzhou, missile frigate Liuzhou and replenishment ship Dongpinghu.

The two militaries will send submarines, surface ships, anti-submarine aircraft and anti-submarine helicopters to participate in the exercise in Russia's Peter the Great Gulf, which kicked off on Thursday afternoon, according to a Chinese military official.

"The exercise will last for several days. It will be the first time that the destroyer Nanchang would take part in a joint drill in a foreign country. During the drills, we will jointly conduct many subjects, together with our Russian peers, in real combat scenarios such as formation air defense, passing through torpedo danger zones and shooting at sea," said Zhou Minghui, captain of destroyer Nanchang.

Code-named the "Joint Sea 2021" drill, the exercise bears great significance in several aspects, according to Zhang Yong, commander of the Chinese fleet.

"The China-Russia 'Joint Sea series' drill is an important platform to consolidate and advance the two countries' comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in the new era, as well as an effective carrier to enhance our abilities to jointly respond to maritime security threats. The joint drill, which will have some new subjects and topics this year, bears great significance in enhancing the strategic mutual trust and deepening friendly and pragmatic cooperation," he said.