Eight days of naval drills between China and Russia are getting underway in the South China Sea today. The exercises come on the heels of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent move to publically back China’s stand in the South China Sea.
Chinese navy’s spokesperson Liang Yang said, the Joint Sea exercise includes surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, ship-borne helicopters and marines from both sides.
The drills were first announced in July. China and Russia have previously held joint military drills in the Sea of Japan and in the Mediterranean.