A Russian corvette enters the port of Zhanjiang during the Joint Sea-2024 China-Russia naval exercise, in Zhanjiang, China, in this still image from video released July 13, 2024. Russian Defence Ministry via Reuters

Two Russian warships have arrived in the southern Chinese port city of Zhanjiang to take part in joint naval exercises, the Russian Defence Ministry said on July 13.

China and Russia have greatly reinforced ties since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine that began in February 2022. Their common goal is also to reduce the role of the United States and the West on the international stage.

“A detachment of vessels from the Pacific fleet will take part in the joint naval exercise — Interaction Maritime 2024,” the Ministry announced on Telegram, posting a video of their arrival.

The first phase will take place from Monday-Wednesday and involve anti-air and anti-submarine attacks along with Chinese planes specialised in anti-submarine manoeuvres, it said.

The two countries hold joint military exercises regularly, but their level of interoperability is greatly inferior to that of the Western military alliance NATO, the European Union Institute for Security Studies said in a report in early July.

Last year, a similar naval exercise took place off Alaska.