The navies of China, Iran and Russia have begun joint exercises in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, as Tehran steps up its military cooperation with the two nations in response to regional tensions with the US.
The war games starting on Tuesday, which is the trio’s fourth since 2019, comes amid heightened tensions in the region, with Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza in its sixth month.
In response, Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a wave of attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, prompting US-led strikes in Yemen, which the group controls large parts of.
The Russian defense ministry said the drills will run through Friday and involve warships, while aviation would focus on the protection of “maritime economic activity”.
A grouping of ships from Moscow’s Pacific Fleet, led by the Varyag cruiser, arrived at the Iranian port of Chabahar on Monday ahead of the exercises, according to state media.
The navies of Azerbaijan, India, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan and South Africa will act as observers during the drills, according to Russian media.
China’s defense ministry said the exercises, dubbed the “Maritime Security Belt – 2024”, were organized with the aim of “jointly maintaining regional maritime security”.
“China will send … guided-missile destroyer Urumqi, guided-missile frigate Linyi and comprehensive supply ship Dongpinghu to participate in the exercise,” Chinese officials added in a statement, without further details.
Iranian state media said the exercise was being held with the aim of strengthening “the security of international maritime trade, combating piracy and maritime terrorism,” among others.
It takes place as a naval coalition led by Washington has been operating in the Red Sea since December in a bid to counter the Houthi assaults.
Meanwhile, in Europe, some 20,000 troops from 13 NATO member countries are conducting drills in the north of Sweden (which has just joined the military alliance), Finland and Norway.
It’s being held as part of a vast exercise called Steadfast Defender 24, the military alliance’s largest since the cold war, with as many as 90,000 troops involved over several months.
The alliance says the drills are intended “to demonstrate NATO’s ability to defend every inch of its territory,” a sentiment seen as a signal to Russia, as Moscow continues to threaten Ukraine’s allies two years on from its invasion.