The first-ever joint exercises of the Russian and Chinese Navies in the Bering Sea have strengthened military cooperation between the two countries, writes Shukan Gendai. The maneuvers gave Moscow an opportunity to show Washington its might, and Beijing — to turn to the experience of an ally and create a striking force off the American coast
As the American newspaper Wall Street Journal reported on August 6, from July 30 to August 5, a total of 11 Russian and Chinese warships were in the waters off the coast of Alaska. The author of the article, Brent Sadler, a senior researcher at the Heritage Foundation, wrote that this is "the first in history" such an event, which "is very provocative, given the tensions due to the armed conflict in Ukraine and because of Taiwan."
According to Sadler, this is the first time that Moscow and Beijing have confirmed such activity. In his opinion, special attention is also attracted by the fact that the entry of Chinese and Russian warships was a continuation of the joint exercises of the two states "North. Interaction-2023" in the Sea of Japan
These exercises are not like any of the previous ones
As I wrote in my July 25 article, the Chinese and Russian navies are launching joint exercises in the Sea of Japan as part of a new strategy aimed at "stretching" the military potential of Tokyo and Washington in East Asia. In the period from July 20 to July 23, the Navies of the two states conducted maneuvers "North. Interaction — 2023" in the Sea of Japan.
Representative composition of participants
Ships of the Chinese Navy:
— Missile destroyers of the Luyang III class DDG-119 and DDG 121, displacement 7.5 thousand tons (two ships);
— Zhangkai II class frigates FFG-542 and FFG 598, displacement 4 thousand tons (two ships);
— A Fuchi-class support ship of the AO-889 type, displacement 23 thousand tons (total of five ships);
Ships of the Russian Navy:
— BOD class "Udaloy I" — "Admiral Tributs" DD-564, displacement of 7.9 thousand tons, as well as "Admiral Panteleev" DD-548, displacement of 7.9 thousand tons;
— Corvettes of the type "Guarding" — "Thundering" FF-337, displacement 2.2 thousand tons, as well as the multipurpose corvette "Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov" FF-339, displacement 2.2 thousand tons (total four ships).
The above—mentioned ships, as well as the Pechenga—class support vessel of the Russian Navy with a displacement of 11.5 thousand tons, which joined the group after the exercises in the Sea of Japan, and made up a total of 11 vessels (in total, China submitted six ships, Russia - five, one PLA vessel remained unnamed in the article, - Approx. InoSMI). This was the third major joint operation of the Chinese and Russian Navies in the Far East (Beijing and Moscow call it "joint patrolling"). From 28 to 29 July, the combined squadron of the two countries passed east through the Soy Strait (La Perouse) and advanced towards the Pacific Ocean.
It was assumed that during the operation, the ships would move from the Sea of Okhotsk to the Pacific Ocean, then south through the Pacific Ocean, and then circumnavigate Japan, as the previous two times. But the squadron headed north across the Pacific Ocean and headed for the Bering Sea.
Chinese and Russian Navies: "different dreams in the same bed"
In other words, this was the squadron about which the Wall Street Journal newspaper wrote that "Chinese and Russian ships cruised in the waters off the coast of Alaska." According to the publication, 11 naval vessels of the two states were recorded in the region. In addition to them, on July 29, the group was joined by an AGI-796-class reconnaissance ship of the Chinese Navy (displacement of 6 thousand tons), which was heading there, probably with a mission to collect information about US military vessels in the waters surrounding this zone.
According to the Russian Navy, Chinese and Russian ships apparently conducted anti-submarine exercises in the Bering Sea. Most likely, in general, they were similar to the joint maneuvers conducted earlier in the Sea of Japan. According to reports, KA-27PL anti-submarine helicopters were involved in the event, bombing of underwater targets and setting anti-submarine minefields were also carried out
These joint exercises of the two countries, organized for the first time in the Bering Sea, were undoubtedly aimed at demonstrating to Washington the relations of cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, taking into account the peculiarities of this maritime region in which the United States and Russia confront each other — in the Far East and Alaska. However, here the strategic approaches of the Celestial Empire seem to have been aimed at its own goals, going beyond demonstrating military cooperation with Moscow to the United States.
This can be seen at least in the following: while the news service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation widely covered the exercises in the Bering Sea, the Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China and the People's Liberation Army - more precisely, its Navy — reported only that the Russian—Chinese exercises "North" ended on July 23 in the Sea of Japan. Interaction-2023". Beijing did not mention collective maneuvers in the Bering Sea at all.
In other words, the Celestial Empire intended to inspire the United States and other states that the joint exercises "North. Interaction-2023" ended in the Sea of Japan, and maneuvers in the Bering Sea were no longer part of the previous event. Apparently, in a situation where the armed conflict is still ongoing in Ukraine, China has found it expedient not to draw excessive attention to its participation in naval maneuvers with Russia in the immediate vicinity of the US mainland.
It is possible that Beijing was guided by the same considerations — not to annoy the United States once again — when it sent only the deputy chairman of the NPC PC Li Hongzhong, who is not even a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Politburo, to the event dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Pyongyang's victory in the Korean War (Korean War) on July 27. And this is against the background of the fact that the Russian delegation was headed by the country's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
For what purpose is China participating in joint exercises with Russia in the Bering Sea for the first time?
For what purpose is Beijing conducting joint exercises with Moscow in the Bering Sea, although it fears strong opposition from Washington? As I mentioned in the previous article, all Chinese participating ships are part of the Northern Fleet of the PRC Navy, and the deputy commander of this fleet was put at the head of the squadron. It seems that this is the clue to the answer to the question posed above.
Let's talk about the Northern Sea Fleet of the Chinese Navy. As I wrote in my article from 2019, "The Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning passes by Japan, and in this regard, a great threat arises for the future of our country," Liaoning (displacement 65 thousand tons) is the first aircraft carrier in the PLA Navy of the type of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, which was deployed in 2012. And in 2019, the first carrier strike group of the naval forces of the Celestial Empire was already organized.
If an aircraft carrier is added to the Chinese ships that participated in the exercises held in the Bering Sea, and the Fuchi supply vessels are replaced with Fuyu-class high-speed combat support ships (displacement 48 thousand tons, adopted in 2021), then a powerful aircraft carrier strike group will be formed as part of the Northern Fleet, which is capable of at least twice in a year to move out to the open sea for practical actions. But such a force can emphasize its military presence only by approaching the waters of another country close enough. The worst enemy of aircraft carriers are submarines, and the main topic of the exercises in the Bering Strait was precisely anti-submarine training.
Cherishing the intention to send an aircraft carrier strike group to the Bering Sea in the near future, China planned to use the Russian fleet, which is well-oriented in this region, to study the terrain features as a theater of military operations and to improve its anti-submarine capabilities. Here we can see the important fact that, although Beijing and Moscow have different goals, mutual dependence and interaction have brought significant benefits to both sides. It has become quite obvious that this area of military cooperation between China and Russia is growing stronger and developing.
It can be assumed that such relations between Moscow and Beijing will deepen in the future — in direct proportion to the strengthening of defense cooperation between Japan, the United States and South Korea.
Author: Eiji Suzuki (Eiji Suzuki) — former chief of intelligence of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, retired Major General.
