The truth about Russia participating in military exercises with China in the East Sea

What Russia brings to the upcoming joint exercise with China in the East Sea may disappoint Beijing because it is outdated and too small in scale.

China and Russia prepare for joint military exercises in the East Sea. Photo: THX

Russia's TASS news agency on August 22 quoted Russian Pacific Fleet spokesman Vladimir Matveyev as saying that Russia and China agreed on a plan for joint naval exercises in the East Sea to take place from September 12-19.

The exercise attracted great attention because it took place after the Arbitral Tribunal under Annex VII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea issued a ruling rejecting China's "nine-dash line" sovereignty claim in the East Sea.

In a statement quoted by the New York Times, expert Bonnie Glaser of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that the exercise is one of a series of measures to respond to the ruling from the Arbitral Tribunal to demonstrate Beijing's determination to protect its sovereignty, thereby resisting pressure from the public as well as the military.

Therefore, Chinese media has talked a lot about this exercise. Even the Global Times (supplement of the People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party) said that this exercise comes from the calculation of coordination against external threats, has deterrence and restraint as well as is meaningful in protecting (illegal) territorial sovereignty in the East Sea.

However, unlike China, which announced early that it would conduct joint military exercises with Russia in the East Sea (from July 28), Russia remained relatively silent on this issue, confirming information about the related plan nearly a month later.

It is also noteworthy that Russia only sent a very limited force to participate in the exercise. Taiwan's China Times reported on September 1 that a total of five Russian ships participated in the exercise, including the anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs, the anti-submarine ship Admiral Vinogradov, the landing ship Peresvet, the tugboat Alatau and the tanker Pechenga.

The Diplomat said that such a scale is very limited. Moreover, the warships that Russia sent to the East Sea for exercises are not the most modern ships of this country, only the Peresvet landing ship was launched in the early 1990s, and the two anti-submarine ships are from the old Soviet era.

According to The Diplomat, China and Russia do not have a formal military alliance, so the joint exercise between the two countries has more political significance than substantive significance, mainly showing that the security partnership between the two countries is developing rapidly.

Besides, according to Russian East Asia expert Mr. Sumsky, Russia's joint military exercises with China in the East Sea are not an indication of Russia's support for China on the East Sea issue, Russia still does not change its neutral stance on the East Sea issue.

Earlier on July 14, at a regular press conference, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated: “We believe that countries with sovereignty disputes in the East Sea should strictly adhere to the principle of not using force and continue to seek diplomatic and political solutions to resolve disputes based on international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as well as agreements between China and ASEAN.”

According to Tintuc