Alwaght- China and Russia warships began war-games near North Korea amid continuing sabre- rattling between Washington and Pyongyang.
The joint exercises are taking place between Peter the Great Bay, just outside the Russian port of Vladivostok, close to the Russia-North Korea border, and into the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, to the north of Japan, Xinhua reported.
The drills kicked off Monday and continue for a week, according to the spokesman for Russia’s Pacific Fleet, Vladimir Matveev.
The Russian Pacific Fleet is represented by the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs, cutting-edge modern corvette Sovershenny, the rescue vessel Igor Belousov equipped with deep-submersible rescue apparatus AS-40, two diesel submarines and a number of support ships. China rolled out the destroyer Shijiazhuang, the frigate Daqing, the submarine support ship Changdao with deep-submersible rescue vehicle Elar-7.
The drills are the second part of China-Russian naval exercises this year, the first of which took place in the Baltic in July. The report did not directly link them to current tensions over North Korea.
Over the last few month there have been an increase in tensions between the United States and North Korea with each side accusing the other of provocations. Pyongyang fired another mid-range ballistic missile over Japan on Friday after conducting its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, a move that has led to UN Security Council sanctions
Russia and China have proposed a ‘double-freeze’ solution to the crisis, wherein the United States ceases its drills with South Korea in exchange for the North suspending its missile and nuclear tests. However, the US has rejected these proposals, saying it has every right to carry out exercises with its allies.
North Korea blames the US for escalating tensions in the region through its provocative military drills. Pyongyang insists that it is developing nuclear weapons to deal with growing threats posed by the US.
