Russia, China commence joint patrols following naval exercises in Yellow Sea
Closing ceremony of the Russian-Chinese Joint Sea 2026 exercises at Qingdao Naval BaseRussian Ministry of DefencePublished on:14 Jul 2026, 8:48 amThe Russian Navy and the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). . .
Closing ceremony of the Russian-Chinese Joint Sea 2026 exercises at Qingdao Naval BaseRussian Ministry of DefencePublished on:14 Jul 2026, 8:48 amThe Russian Navy and the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China have concluded aseries of exercisesin the Yellow Sea and began conducting joint patrols in the region. The exercises under the name Joint Sea 2026 were held from July 6 to 13 and involved Russian Navy and PLAN surface ships, submarines, and aviation elements. Activities during the exercises included drills in anti-submarine warfare, air defence, and search and rescue. The Russian Navy contingent for the exercises consisted of the Pacific Fleet's flagship, the Slava-class cruiserVaryag, as well as theSteregushchiy-class corvetteRezkiy, theProject 636. 3 diesel-electric attack submarineUfa, and the Project 21300 rescue shipIgor Belousov. The PLAN vessels meanwhile included the destroyersAnshanandKaifeng, the frigateWuhu, the supply shipKekesilihu, the rescue vesselYangchenghu, and an unidentified Yuan-class diesel-electric submarine. The two navies' joint patrols began shortly after the Joint Sea 2026 concluding ceremony was held at the PLAN's Qingdao Naval Base. A statement that had been published earlier by the Russian Pacific Fleet said that "some forces from both sides" will participate in joint patrols of the Pacific Ocean, though no specific areas were mentioned. Follow Us: