appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Meredith Chen

Russian and Chinese submarines have conducted their first joint patrol in the Pacific, the latest in a series of efforts to expand military cooperation between the two countries.
The Russian Navy’s Pacific Fleet said on Wednesday that the patrol began in early August after five days of joint naval exercises in the Sea of Japan – also known as the East Sea – from August 1.
“The diesel-electric submarine Volkhov of the Pacific Fleet and a submarine of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy took to patrolling along an approved route in the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea,” the statement said.
It was not clear if the submarines were part of a 15-day annual joint naval patrol that ended on August 20.
The patrols and the “Maritime Interaction-2025” drill come in the countdown to a massive military parade in Beijing next week to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war.
The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be among dozens of foreign leaders to attend the event.




The United States has the world’s biggest fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, but Russia and China have been working together to coordinate their strengths in the area.
The Pacific Fleet said that after its mission, which covered 2,000 nautical miles, the Volkhov returned to the naval base in the Russian city of Vladivostok.
The PLA Navy did not mention the submarine patrol, but it did say that the joint naval drill took place earlier this month in the sea and airspace near Vladivostok, and involved submarine rescue tasks.
The theme of the drill was “jointly safeguarding strategic maritime routes” and “jointly countering security threats in the western Pacific”, the PLA Navy said.
During the drills, the Russian and Chinese navies fired artillery and practised anti-submarine and air defence manoeuvres in the Sea of Japan.
“After the exercise, the participating Chinese naval vessels – the missile destroyer Shaoxing and the replenishment ship Qiandaohu – together with the Russian Navy’s three surface vessels including the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs and two shipborne helicopters formed a joint formation to conduct a maritime joint patrol in an area of the western Pacific,” Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
Russian and Chinese media reported that diesel-electric submarines from the two countries were also involved in the joint exercise.
Retired Chinese naval officer Wang Yunfei told Chinese state-owned newspaper Global Times that the involvement of submarines in the exercises highlighted the deepening of Sino-Russian military ties since a great deal of submarine data, such as noise characteristics, was supposed to be classified.


The 15-day patrol is the fifth in an annual naval series that began in 2021 with a Russian-Chinese mission in the Asia-Pacific.
Russian state news agency Tass said the main goal of the joint effort was to strengthen naval cooperation between the two countries, ensure peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, monitor the maritime area and protect Russian and Chinese maritime economic facilities.
Russia and China have been steadily strengthening their “no limits” strategic partnership since its declaration in early 2022.
In late 2024, on a patrol with its Russian counterpart, a China Coast Guard fleet entered the Arctic Sea for the first time, pointing to China’s evolving strategic ambitions in the polar regions. Joint strategic aerial patrols have also covered large parts of the Pacific Ocean.


Beijing boosts Taiwan-facing firepower with brigade-level 155mm howitzer deployment

China-Egypt joint drills a show of Beijing’s military reach

Export potential? Chinese YY-20 refuels Egyptian Rafale in cross-platform drill

China tests GJ-21 stealth drone as Sichuan Type 076 warship carries out sea trials

China’s military drills

Russian and Chinese submarines join forces in Pacific patrol first

Chinese and Russian sailors taking part in joint search and rescue drills in the Sea of Japan, near Vladivostok, Russia, on August 5. Photo: EPA/Russian Defence Ministry

Chinese and Russian navies patrol the Pacific after wrapping up joint military drills

Chinese and Russian troops gather at a military port in Vladivostok, Russia on Friday ahead of the “Joint Sea 2025” exercise. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese warships arrive in Russia’s far east for joint Pacific naval exercise

The aircraft carrier Shandong departs from Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong, July 7. Photo: Xinhua

China rejects Trump proposal to join US-Russia nuclear disarmament talks

US President Donald Trump holds a photo of him with Russian President Vladimir Putin taken during their August 15 summit in Alaska, where nuclear arms control featured prominently. Photo: EPA

News

China

Military

Diplomacy

Mission and choice of vessels reflect the deepening military coordination between the armed forces of the two countries


Mission and choice of vessels reflect the deepening military coordination between the armed forces of the two countries.


Russian and Chinese submarines join forces in Pacific patrol first

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Mission and choice of vessels reflect the deepening military coordination between the armed forces of the two countries

Mission and choice of vessels reflect the deepening military coordination between the armed forces of the two countries