China and Pakistan Stage Historic Naval Drill Post Russia’s Andaman Show

The Chinese and Pakistani navies are conducting week-long exercises in the Arabian Sea, only days following Russia’s Pacific Fleet and Myanmar practised repelling assaults in their first maritime exercise, and India and the US pledged security cooperation.

On Saturday, the Chinese and Pakistani navy began an anti-submarine exercise in the waterways and airspace in the northern Arabian Sea at a naval facility in Karachi. The exercise will conclude on November 17.

China and Pakistan will conduct coordinated marine patrols for the first time during the drill, according to the People’s Liberation Army Daily on Monday.

The exercise follows what Moscow calls the very first Russian-Myanmar naval activity in modern history, which took place from November 7-9 in the Andaman Sea on the northeastern edge of the Indian Ocean, marking a watershed moment for Russian naval presence in a sea that the US considers one of its global security interests.

Per Interfax, two huge Russian anti-submarine ships, Admiral Tributs, and Admiral Panteleyev, performed training alongside a frigate and a corvette from Myanmar’s navy last week.

Amid efforts to strengthen the safety connections between China and Pakistan, as well as Russia and Myanmar, Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State, and Lloyd Austin, the secretary of defence, met with their Indian counterparts in New Delhi on November 10.

The US and Indian governments issued a joint statement following the so-called “2+2 Dialogue” in which they expressed serious concern over the conflict in Ukraine but offered no explicit reference to Russia. They also promised their support for an Indo-Pacific that is open and free.

Even as its relationships with Washington have deepened, New Delhi has carefully maintained its traditional relationships with Russia, including defence cooperation.

China was also left out of the joint statement, even though an Indian official had previously stated that China would be one of the primary focus points of the talks.

The careful handling of those negotiations comes ahead of a high-profile meeting between Joe Biden, the president of the United States, and Chinese President Xi Jinping this week in San Francisco.

References: Reuters

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Source: Maritime Shipping News