SHANGHAI, May 20 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed Tuesday to conduct joint military exercises commemorating the 70th anniversary of the countries’ victory in World War II.
“We have already agreed with Vladimir Putin that our countries will conduct a range of joint drills and celebrations in honor of this great victory,” Xi said at the opening ceremony of the Russian-Chinese large-scale Naval Cooperation-2014 drills.
The exercises are aimed at strengthening the cooperation of the two countries’ navies and the ability to counter various threats in open water.
This will be the third such joint training exercise. The last such drill was conducted last July in the Sea of Japan and involved about 20 ships and vessels from both nations.
In recent years, Russia and China have been enjoying close cooperation in many spheres, including on military issues. Russia has been supplying China with weapons and hardware, such as Su-27 fighter jets, air defense systems and air defense missiles.
Russian and Chinese ground forces take part in annual military drills as part of preparations for joint efforts in case of destabilization in Central Asia.
The Russian Navy also works closely with its Chinese partners to ensure the safety of maritime convoys that are engaged in moving Syrian chemical weapons out of the country.
Putin arrived in China on Tuesday for an official visit that was expected to result in the signing of a large number of documents, including bilateral, intergovernmental, inter-departmental and corporate agreements.
