China announces joint naval and air drills with Russia

Chinese and Russian warships taking part in joint naval drills in the East China Sea in December 2022 (Xu Wei/Xinhua via AP)

China’s Defence Ministry has announced joint naval and air drills with Russia starting this month, underscoring the closeness between their militaries as Russia presses its grinding invasion of Ukraine.

The ministry said the “Northern United-2024” exercises would take place in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk farther north, but gave no details.