China and Russia Kick Off Joint Naval Exercises in Sea of Japan

Vladivostok, Russia – China and Russia launched their "Joint Sea-2025" naval drills in the Sea of Japan on Sunday, August 3, 2025, near the Russian port of Vladivostok, signaling a deepening of their strategic alliance to counter the perceived dominance of a U.S.-led global order. The three-day exercises, as outlined by China’s Ministry of National Defence, focus on submarine rescue operations, anti-submarine warfare, air defense, missile defense, and maritime combat drills.

The Chinese fleet includes four vessels, notably the guided-missile destroyers Shaoxing and Urumqi, joined by Russian ships such as the anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Tributs and the corvette Rezky. Post-drill, both nations will conduct joint patrols in designated Pacific waters, according to China’s defense ministry. The Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet clarified that the exercises are defensive and not targeted at any third country, as reported by the US Naval Institute.