Latest news with #navalexercises
Al Jazeera
a day ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Russia, China naval forces to carry out joint Asia Pacific patrol: Report
Russian and Chinese naval vessels plan to conduct a joint patrol in the Asia Pacific region, following recent exercises in the Sea of Japan, Russia's official Interfax has reported. Citing a statement on Wednesday from the Russian Pacific Fleet's press service, Interfax said that ships from the Russian Navy and China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy 'will form a new task group to carry out joint patrol missions in the Asia-Pacific region'. 'After replenishing supplies from logistics vessels, the crews of the Russian Navy and the PLA Navy will form a new detachment to carry out joint patrol tasks in the Asia-Pacific region,' the news agency said. Russia is conducting a series of military exercises with China in response to the build-up of US military potential in the Asia Pacific region, Interfax said, citing Russia's chief of staff, Valery Gerasimov, in 2022. Moscow and Beijing have already conducted joint air patrols in the Asia Pacific region since 2019, it added. The joint patrol announcement comes as the two countries conclude five days of joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan that focused on anti-submarine and air defence missions. During the final phase of the exercises, Russia's large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and the corvette Gromky, together with the Chinese destroyers Shaoxing and Urumqi, carried out live-fire drills while crews practised searching for and neutralising a mock enemy submarine, Interfax reported. Russia's Pacific Fleet earlier said that the drills were defensive in nature and not directed against any other countries. The reported formation of the Asia Pacific joint patrol comes as China modernises and upgrades its naval fleet to become a 'blue water' force, capable of carrying out long-range operations in the world's oceans, similar to the United States and other Western forces. Russia and China, which signed a 'no-limits' strategic partnership shortly before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, conduct regular exercises to rehearse coordination between their armed forces and send a deterrent signal to adversaries.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
How a New Asia Alliance Is Challenging China
A new alliance between India and the Philippines is emerging to counter China's actions in the South China Sea — a sign that nations across the region are filling the gaps left by an increasingly disengaged America. It's a smart strategy. This week the Asian democracies held their first joint naval exercises in the waters, much of which China claims as its own. Despite Beijing's vessels shadowing them, officials said the two-day drills were a success.
Times of Oman
3 days ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
South China Sea: India, Philippines hold first joint patrol
India and the Philippines conducted their first joint naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea, the Filipino military said Monday. The naval exercises come as the Philippines' President Ferdinand Marcos departed for a state visit to New Delhi on Monday, where he is expected to hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. What we know about the joint Indian-Filipino patrols in the South China Sea Before departing for his five-day trip to India, Marcos praised the two countries' "steadfastness in upholding international maritime law, including the UNCLOS", the UN treaty granting an exclusive economic zone within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of a country's shores. The two-day exercises started on Sunday and include three Indian vessels. India's naval vessels, including the guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, arrived in Manila for a port visit late last week. The Philippines deployed two frigates. The patrol "started yesterday afternoon, then it's ongoing up to this moment... the activity at the moment is replenishment at sea," Lieutenant Colonel John Paul Salgado told news agency Agence France Press. How did China respond to the joint naval patrols? The cooperation between India and Philippines is likely to upset China, which claims the South China Sea in its entirety. Answering a question about China's retaliatory move to the naval exercises, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Romeo Brawner said without elaborating that "we did not experience any untoward incident but we were still shadowed. We expected that already." Brawner said the naval patrols had been successful so far and expressed hopes that Filipino forces could engage India's military in more joint maneuvers in the future. The Philippines has actively increased its military cooperation with several allies in the last after a series of clashes in the disputed areas with China. China has made claims over large parts of the South China Sea, including maritime zones claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Some $3 trillion-worth (€2.6 trillion) of goods are shipped through the strategically important region annually. China also has a longstanding border dispute with India in the Himalayas. Last week, China called Manila a "troublemaker" that has aligned itself with foreign forces to stir up trouble in what China deems its own territorial waters.
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
India and the Philippines stage joint sail and naval drill in the disputed South China Sea
MANILA, Philippines — India and the Philippines staged joint sail and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea for the first time, a high-profile military deployment that will likely antagonize China. Beijing has separate territorial disputes with the two Asian democracies and a long-running regional rivalry with New Delhi.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
India and the Philippines stage joint sail and naval drill in the disputed South China Sea
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — India and the Philippines staged joint sail and naval exercises in the disputed South China Sea for the first time, a high-profile military deployment that will likely antagonize China. Beijing has separate territorial disputes with the two Asian democracies and a long-running regional rivalry with New Delhi. Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner said Monday that the two-day joint naval sail and exercises which began Sunday have been successful so far and expressed hopes that Filipino forces could engage India's military in more joint maneuvers in the future. Asked if Chinese forces carried out any action in response, Brawner said without elaborating that 'we did not experience any untoward incident but we were still shadowed. We expected that already.' In past joint patrols with other foreign navies, Chinese navy and coast guard ships have kept watch from a distance, according to the Philippine military. China has a longstanding land border dispute with India in the Himalayas, which sparked a monthlong war in 1962 and a number of deadly firefights after. Separately, Beijing's expansive claims to virtually the entire South China Sea, a key global trade route, has led to tense confrontations with other claimant states, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam. Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also lay claims to parts of the contested waters. The Philippines has staged naval patrols in the disputed waters with its treaty ally, the United States, and other strategic partners including Japan, Australia, New Zealand and France to promote freedom of navigation and overflight and strengthen deterrence against China. It has allowed journalists to join territorial sea and aerial patrols to witness China's increasingly aggressive actions, provoking angry Chinese reactions. In response to a question last week about Manila's plans to build up military cooperation, China's Ministry of National Defense called the Philippines a 'troublemaker' that has aligned itself with foreign forces to stir up trouble in what China deems its own territorial waters. 'China never wavers in its resolve and will to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests and will take resolute countermeasures against any provocations by the Philippine side,' Defense Ministry spokesperson Col. Zhang Xiaogang said in a news conference. Brawner said the Philippines has to boost deterrence to prevent war. 'The way to do that is number one, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has to be strengthened through modernization and secondly, we need to partner with like-minded nations and that's what we're doing with India,' he said last week. During a reception on board an Indian navy tanker, the INS Shakti, on Thursday, Brawner said the vessel's port call in Manila was more than ceremonial. It 'sends a powerful signal of solidarity, strength in partnership and the energy of cooperation between two vibrant democracies in the Indo-Pacific,' he said. Brawner welcomed the deepening of relations between the two Asian countries and 'reaffirmed the shared commitment to maritime security, regional stability and a rules-based international order in one of the world's most geopolitically sensitive regions.' Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos left Monday for a five-day state visit to India for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top officials to boost defense, trade and investment, agriculture, tourism and pharmaceutical industry engagements.
