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BEIJING: China said Wednesday it would conduct joint military drills with Russia in August, including sea and air exercises near Vladivostok and joint naval patrols in the Pacific.
Alongside economic and political ties, Moscow and Beijing have deepened military cooperation in recent years as both countries seek to counterbalance what they see as a United States-led global order.
The drills, named “Joint Sea-2025,” were part of regular bilateral cooperation plans and “not directed against third parties,” Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang told a press conference Wednesday.
After the drills, they will also conduct naval patrols in “relevant waters of the Pacific,” Zhang said.
Last year’s “Joint Sea-2024” exercises were held along China’s southern coast.
The “Joint Sea-2025” drills are due to take place ahead of a planned visit to China by Russian President Vladimir Putin beginning late August.
Putin will attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as well as celebrations, including a military parade, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
He will also hold talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Relations between the two countries have deepened since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
China has never denounced Russia’s more than three-year military war nor called for it to withdraw its troops, and many of Ukraine’s allies believe that Beijing has provided support to Moscow.
China insists it is a neutral party, regularly calling for an end to the fighting while also accusing Western countries of prolonging the conflict by arming Ukraine.
Xi told Russia’s foreign minister earlier in July that their countries should “strengthen mutual support” during a meeting in Beijing.

LONDON: Britain on Wednesday rejected criticism that it was rewarding militant group Hamas by setting out plans to recognize a Palestinian state unless Israel took steps to improve the situation in Gaza and bring about peace.
The sight of emaciated Gaza children has shocked the world in recent days and on Tuesday, a hunger monitor warned that a worst-case scenario of famine was unfolding there and immediate action was needed to avoid widespread death.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ultimatum, setting a September deadline for Israel, prompted an immediate rebuke from his counterpart in Jerusalem, who said it rewarded Hamas and punished the victims of their 2023 cross-border attack.
US President Donald Trump said he did not think Hamas “should be rewarded” with recognition of Palestinian independence.
Asked about that criticism, British Transport Minister Heidi Alexander — designated by the government to respond to questions in a series of media interviews on Wednesday — said it was not the right way to characterise Britain’s plan.
“This is not a reward for Hamas. Hamas is a vile terrorist organization that has committed appalling atrocities. This is about the Palestinian people. It’s about those children that we see in Gaza who are starving to death,” she told LBC radio.
“We’ve got to ratchet up pressure on the Israeli government to lift the restrictions to get aid back into Gaza.”
France announced last week it would recognize Palestinian statehood in September.
Successive British governments have said they would recognize a Palestinian state when it was most effective to do so.
In a televised address on Tuesday, Starmer said that moment had now come, highlighting the suffering in Gaza and saying the prospect of a two-state solution — a Palestinian state co-existing in peace alongside Israel — was under threat.
Starmer said Britain would make the move at the UN General Assembly in September unless Israel took substantive steps to allow more aid to enter Gaza, made clear there will be no annexation of the West Bank and committed to a long-term peace process that delivered a two-state solution.