90,000 men, 400 ships, 120 planes and helicopters… Vladimir Putin assures us that the 2024 edition of his “Ocean” exercises – named after the major naval maneuvers of the USSR in the 70s and 80s and rehabilitated by the Kremlin leader this year – will be one of the most important of this type for “three decades”.
Organized until September 16 in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, as well as in the Mediterranean, Caspian and Baltic Seas, “Ocean-2024” should allow to test the “preparation” of the troops or even “to use high-precision weapons”, insisted the Russian Ministry of Defense. But another objective has been defined: that of extending “cooperation with the navies of partner countries”. And now for part of these exercises, the Kremlin fleet will be accompanied by its great ally: Xi Jinping’s China.
China-Japan tensions
As of Tuesday, Russian and Chinese warships have begun joint military maneuvers in the northern Sea of Japan, officially to focus on “defending sea routes and maritime economic activity zones,” the Russian Defense Ministry explained on Telegram. The ships are currently in the Peter the Great Gulf, near Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East, according to Moscow, which also said that four warships and a Chinese supply ship were also there.
China also announced on Monday that it would hold joint naval and air exercises with Russia this month around the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. Japan’s Defense Ministry said it had spotted five Chinese navy vessels heading toward Russia in the Sea of Japan over the weekend. They had “sailed northeast through the Tsushima Strait toward the Sea of Japan” on Saturday and Sunday, according to Tokyo. The strait, located between South Korea and Japan, connects the South China Sea and the Sea of Japan, and is not in Japanese territorial waters.
However, more direct maritime tensions between China and Japan have only increased in recent months. Tokyo notably condemned the incursion into its territorial waters by a Chinese navy vessel off southern islands in late August, just days after denouncing a brief flight by a Chinese plane into its airspace.
Also in June, Japan protested to Beijing after four apparently armed Chinese vessels sailed near disputed and uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Called the Senkaku Islands in Japan and the Diaoyu Islands in China, they are administered by Japan, but Chinese coast guard vessels frequently venture nearby, sparking diplomatic tensions.
An ever stronger partnership between Beijing and Moscow
These new military exercises are more evidence of the desire of China and Russia to intensify their military and economic cooperation, both rebelling against “Western hegemony”, in particular what they consider to be American domination of world affairs. A good deal: on the one hand, China provides assistance and leverage to Russia to gain influence in the Pacific, but also quite clear support in its conflict with Ukraine – which Beijing has never officially condemned. On the other hand, Moscow supports Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, or on the subject of Taiwan, notably describing the island as an “inalienable” part of China in 2023.
In his opening speech for the “Ocean-2024” exercises, Vladimir Putin also sharply attacked Western countries and its allies. “The United States and its satellite (countries) are increasing their military presence near Russia’s western borders, in the Arctic and in the Asia-Pacific region,” the Russian president castigated, denouncing Washington’s “aggressive actions” that could destabilize “the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region.” “Russia must be ready for any development of the situation,” insisted Vladimir Putin. A way of confirming that the Kremlin is already looking much further than the conflict in Ukraine.