China and Russia Challenge US Military Supremacy With Major Joint Exercise
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
China and Russia will carry out joint naval exercises in the Pacific next week, the Chinese defense ministry said Wednesday, as the quasi-alliance continues to mature.
Why It Matters
The neighbors have moved to strengthen security ties in recent years through bilateral and multilateral exercises spanning naval and air patrols and computer simulations. Over half of their 113 combined drills since 2003 have taken place in the past six years, according to analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies' China Power Project.
This cooperation is especially concentrated in the Pacific. While Beijing and Moscow lack a formal treaty, they are aligned on challenging long-standing U.S. military dominance and seek to establish their own spheres of influence, analysts say.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian defense ministry by email with a request for comment outside of office hours.
What to Know
The People's Liberation Army Navy will join Russia's Pacific Fleet for drills in the Sea of Japan, in the waters and airspace near the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, China's defense ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said during Wednesday's regular news conference.
This handout photo made available by the Iranian Army Office on March 11 shows the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy guided-missile destroyer Baotou during joint military drills between Iran, Russia and China in the Gulf...
This handout photo made available by the Iranian Army Office on March 11 shows the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy guided-missile destroyer Baotou during joint military drills between Iran, Russia and China in the Gulf of Oman. More
Iranian Army via Getty Images
The exercises, which will also include land-based training and collectively dubbed Maritime Interaction 2025, begin August 1, according to a Pacific Fleet statement shared by Russian state media. Both sides stressed that the drills are not directed at any third party.
Naval forces will train in anti-submarine warfare, air defense and search-and-rescue operations, and will conduct "joint gun" exercises, according to a Russian statement.
Participating Russian ships will be led by the large anti-submarine warfare ship Admiral Tributs, with the Type 052 guided-missile destroyer Shaoxing leading the Chinese contingent. Diesel-electric submarines and naval aircraft from both countries will also take part.
Following the exercises, the two sides will deploy to an unspecified part of the Pacific Ocean for their sixth joint maritime patrol, Zhang told reporters.
What People Have Said
Zhang Xiaogang, Chinese defense ministry spokesperson: "This is an arrangement within the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries. It is not targeted at any third party, nor is it related to the current international and regional situation."
Garrett Campbell, retired U.S. Navy captain and adviser to NATO on Russian military strategy, wrote for the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute in June: "It has become resoundingly clear that the increase in bilateral military activities is directly linked to a shared strategic vision held by both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin.
"[...] Putin, incorrectly perceived by many in the U.S. national security community as a mere tactical opportunist, has committed Russia to a long-term strategic confrontation with the West."
What's Next
The last two days of the drills will overlap with a joint exercise between the Indian and Philippine navies in the South China Sea, in what observers have billed as a show of New Delhi's support for the U.S. treaty ally in its ongoing territorial dispute with China.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
20 minutes ago
- USA Today
Phones, jewelry, linens: Which products could cost more due to Trump's India tariffs?
President Donald Trump announced the United States will impose an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, bringing import levies on some items as high as 50%. The Wednesday, Aug. 6, order from the president comes less than a week after the first round of 25% tariff hikes were announced for the South Asian nation and significant U.S. trading partner. Trump cited New Delhi's continued imports of Russian oil as the reason behind this newest measure, sharply escalating tensions between the two countries after months of negotiations over a possible limited trade agreement fell through. The new tariffs on some Indian goods would be among the steepest faced by any U.S. trading partner. Trade analysts warned the tariffs could severely disrupt Indian exports, according to Reuters. The president's order says the additional 25% tariff will go into effect 21 days after the previously-announced 25% tariff, which was set to take hold Aug. 7. Trump announced the initial 25% tariff in a post on his social media app Truth Social on July 30, two days before a bevy of increased reciprocal tariffs went into effect for dozens of nations on Aug. 1. India, the world's fifth largest economy in 2024, relies significantly on the U.S., counting it as its top trading partner last year. Indian goods exported to the U.S. totaled $87 billion in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, with pharmaceuticals and jewelry among its top product types, followed by petrochemicals and textiles. Separately, services exports, mainly IT and professional services, were worth $33 billion last year. The U.S. is India's third-largest investor, and has a $45.7 billion trade deficit with the South Asian nation. Here are some of the products the U.S. relies on most from India, as previously reported by USA TODAY. Pharmaceuticals The U.S. accounts for nearly a third of India's pharmaceutical exports, mainly cheaper versions of popular drugs, Reuters reports, with sales jumping 16% to about $9 billion last fiscal year. Among the dozens of types of medications and supplies the U.S. imports from India, a few classifications make up a significant share. They are items like wadding, gauze and bandages; antineoplastic and immunosuppressive medications, including those used to treat cancers; and analgesics, antipyretics and nonhormonal anti-inflammatory agents, such as pain relievers and medications used to reduce fevers. Smartphones Though China and Vietnam were responsible for more than half of phones sent to the U.S. last year, India also produces a significant share, and looks to be gaining a firmer foothold in the market. According to a new report, India has overtaken China in the last few months as the top exporter of smartphones to the U.S., following Apple's pivot to center manufacturing in New Delhi amid tariff concerns. The share of U.S. smartphone shipments assembled in China fell from 61% to 25% over the past year, the research firm Canalys said, with India picking up most of the decline and increasing its smartphone volume by 240% roughly within the same time frame. More: Trump's trade talks intensify with tariff deadline fast approaching Jewelry and precious stones Next to pharmaceuticals, jewelry and precious stones are among India's top products exported to American consumers. About 30% of India's gems and jewelry exports go to the U.S., accounting for about $10 billion in annual trade, said Kirit Bhansali, chairman of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India, per Reuters. These goods include unmounted or unset diamonds, precious metal jewelry and jewelry clad with precious metal − such as pieces plated with gold or silver. Home linens India is among the top countries responsible for imported home linens in the U.S., representing 36% of nearly $6 billion in imports, according to a New York Times analysis of government data. These products include bathroom and kitchen linen made of terrycloth or cotton, along with bed and table linens. India is also a leader in some types of imported clothing, such as activewear, shirts, baby clothes and suits. According to the Yale Budget Lab, the tariff hikes so far have disproportionately affected clothing and textiles, with consumers facing up to 39% higher shoe prices and 37% higher apparel prices in the short run. Other products The U.S. also relies on Indian imports of frozen shrimp and prawns, petroleum oils such as transformer oil and motor fuel, semiconductor technologies like solar panels and certain types of electrical machinery and parts. Contributing: Reuters; Joey Garrison, USA TODAY. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr.
The Hill
20 minutes ago
- The Hill
Russia sanctions still expected Friday after Putin-Witkoff meeting: US official
A senior U.S. official said sanctions on Russia's key trading partners are still expected to go into effect on Friday, after President Trump's special mission envoy Steve Witkoff's Wednesday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump said Wednesday afternoon that Witkoff and Putin had a 'highly productive' meeting, claiming that 'great progress' was made. The senior official said the talks between Witkoff and Putin in Moscow, their fifth meeting since Trump came back into office, 'went well' and lasted about three hours. ' The Russians are eager to continue engaging with the United States. The secondary sanctions are still expected to be implemented on Friday,' the official said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic talks. Trump said in mid-July that Russia could face 'severe' tariffs if it did not agree to a ceasefire with Ukraine within the next two months. The president said at the time he would slap a 100 percent 'secondary' tariff on countries that do business with the Kremlin, including buying Russian oil and gas. Trump shortened the deadline to Friday, adding he was unsure if the sanctions would deal a great blow to the Russian economy. 'I don't know that sanctions bother him [Putin]. You know? They know about sanctions. I know better than anybody about sanctions, and tariffs and everything else. I don't know if that has any effect. But we're going to do it,' Trump said on July 31. The president's Wednesday post about the Putin-Witkoff meeting did not mention sanctions or tariffs. 'Afterwards, I updated some of our European Allies. Everyone agrees this War must come to a close, and we will work towards that in the days and weeks to come,' the president wrote Wednesday. The president penned an executive order Wednesday increasing tariffs on India by 25 percent due to its purchases of Russian oil. The new import tax total is at 50 percent. The levy is set to go into effect in three weeks. 'They're buying Russian oil, they're fueling the war machine,' Trump said during a Tuesday interview with CNBC. India has pushed back, saying that buying Russian oil was a 'necessity' to stabilize energy costs in the country. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have spearheaded a major sanctions bill against Russia, garnering more than 85 co-sponsors in the Senate. The bill would institute a 500 percent tariff on imports from nations that buy Russian oil, gas and uranium. Senators left for the August recess without advancing the legislation. 'We propose in our bill 500 percent. If it's 250 percent, I could live with it. Even if it's 100 percent, possibly. But you ought to impose bone-crushing sanctions that will stop them from fueling Russia's war machine,' Blumenthal said last week. Putin's envoy for investment and economic cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, said Witkoff's meeting with Russian officials was 'constructive,' adding the U.S.-Russia dialogue would continue and is 'critical for global security and peace.' 'Our side has forwarded some signals, in particular on the Ukrainian issue and corresponding signals were received from President Trump,' Putin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said after the meeting, according to Russian state media. Trump, who has long called for the nearly three-and-a-half-year war in Eastern Europe to end, has been expressing his frustration with Putin in recent weeks, demanding the Russian leader halt the attacks, often on civilian areas. Overnight, Russia's military struck a recreational center in the Zaporizhzhia region, where at least two people have been confirmed dead, according to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. 'No matter what the Kremlin says, they will only genuinely seek to end the war once they feel adequate pressure. And right now, it is very important to strengthen all the levers in the arsenal of the United States, Europe, and the G7 so that a ceasefire truly comes into effect immediately,' Zelensky, who talked to Trump on Tuesday, said on social media.
44 minutes ago
US auctioning seized $325M Russian superyacht with 8 state rooms, helipad, gym & spa
WASHINGTON -- The United States is auctioning off the $325 million luxury superyacht Amadea, its first sale of a seized Russian superyacht since the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The auction, which closes Sept. 10, comes as President Donald Trump seeks to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war. The U.S. has said it's working with allies to put pressure on Russian oligarchs, some of whom are close to Putin and have had their superyachts seized, to try to compel him to stop the war. The 348-foot-long (106-meter-long) yacht, seized three years ago and currently docked in San Diego, was custom built by the German company Lürssen in 2017. Designed by François Zuretti, the yacht features an interior with extensive marble work, eight state rooms, a beauty salon, a spa, a gym, a helipad, a swimming pool and an elevator. It accommodates 16 guests and 36 crew members. Determining the real ownership of the Amadea has been an issue of contention because of an opaque trail of trusts and shell companies. The superyacht is registered in the Cayman Islands and is owned by Millemarin Investments Ltd., also based in the Cayman Islands. The U.S. contends that Suleiman Kerimov, an economist and former Russian politician, who was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018 for alleged money laundering, owns the yacht. Meanwhile, Eduard Khudainatov, a former chairman and chief executive of the state-controlled Russian oil and gas company Rosneft, who has not been sanctioned, claims to own it. U.S. prosecutors say Khudainatov is a straw owner of the yacht, intended to conceal the yacht's true owner, Kerimov. Litigation over the true ownership of the yacht is ongoing. A representative of Khudainatov said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the planned sale of the yacht is 'improper and premature' since Khudainatov is appealing a forfeiture ruling. 'We doubt it will attract any rational buyer at fair market price, because ownership can, and will, be challenged in courts outside the United States, exposing purchasers to years of costly, uncertain litigation,' said the representative, Adam Ford. The yacht has been virtually untouched since the National Maritime Services took custody of it in 2022. To submit a sealed bid on it, bidders must put in a 10 million euro deposit, the equivalent of roughly $11.6 million, to be considered. Ford said Khudainatov would go after any proceeds from the sale of the yacht, estimated to be worth $325 million. 'Should the government press ahead simply to staunch the mounting costs it is imposing on the American taxpayer, we will pursue the sale proceeds, and any shortfall from fair market value, once we prevail in court," Ford said. A U.S. aid package for Ukraine signed into law in May 2024 gave the U.S. the ability to seize Russian state assets located in the U.S. and use them for the benefit of Kyiv, which was attacked by Russia in February 2022.
