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Following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that he had deployed two U.S. nuclear submarines closer to Russia in response to provocative remarks by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday that the Russian and Chinese navies conducted a joint exercise in the Sea of Japan to practice detecting and destroying an “enemy submarine.”
According to Russia, the exercise involved Chinese Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, Russia’s Pacific Fleet IL-38 aircraft, and helicopter crews. “As a result of effective joint actions, the ‘enemy’ submarine was promptly detected and a mock destruction was carried out,” the Russian Defense Ministry stated.
Russia and China, which signed a “no-limits” strategic partnership shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, regularly conduct military exercises to rehearse coordination between their armed forces and send a deterrent signal to adversaries. The Maritime Interaction-2025 exercise, which began near Vladivostok, included four Chinese vessels, such as guided-missile destroyers Shaoxing and Urumqi, and involved anti-submarine warfare, air defense, and joint search and rescue missions. Although planned in advance, the timing of the drills has drawn attention amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia.
