Beijing: The Chinese-Russian naval exercise Maritime Cooperation-2021 and joint patrol were not aimed at third countries, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said on Thursday.
“The exercise was part of the yearly cooperation plan of the Chinese and Russian armed forces and was not aimed at third countries,” Tan told a briefing.
The joint drills “filled the bilateral military cooperation with new content,” boosting both countries’ naval capacity of responding to security threats and maintaining peace in the region, the spokesman said.
Maritime Cooperation-2021 was held in the Sea of Japan from October 14-17. From October 17-23, Russian and Chinese warships conducted their first joint patrol in the western Pacific Ocean off the Japanese coast, while not interfering in Japanese air and maritime space.
