Chinese and Russian naval ships began their third joint patrol in the Pacific this morning, reports TASS, citing a statement issued by the Russian Pacific Fleet’s press service. “Warships of the Russian Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China have begun fulfilling tasks of their third joint patrol in the Pacific Ocean’s waters,” the press service said. ‘After the warships … left Vladivostok, they formed a joint task force in the waters of the Pyotr Veliky Gulf and began moving along the previously agreed route.” The joint mission is aimed at “strengthening the naval cooperation between Russia and China, maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, monitoring of offshore zones and guarding Russia and China’s objects of maritime economic activities,” the Pacific Fleet said.
Each side has five ships in the task force—two destroyers, two corvettes and a supply vessel, for a total of ten ships. The Chinese ships had spent the last four days in Vladivostok, where its officers visited the Pacific Fleet headquarters, and sailors from each navy visited ships of the other, TASS reported yesterday.
