‘Everybody Is Alarmed’ by Joint China-Russia Military Drills in Indo-Pacific: Ex-Marine

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping via a video link at the Kremlin in Moscow on Dec. 30, 2022. Mikhail Klimentyev/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

Russia and China completed joint naval drills in the East China Sea from Dec. 21-27, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin told Chinese leader Xi Jinping during their call on Dec. 30 that Moscow seeks to strengthen military ties with Beijing.

These developments followed the joint air exercise that included nuclear-capable bombers flying over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, according to the Russian defense ministry’s statement on Nov. 30.