China and Russia on Monday officially launched the “Joint Sea-2026” naval exercise at a military port in Qingdao, located in east China’s Shandong Province.
A joint command has been formed, bringing together task forces from the navies of both countries to oversee the exercise.
The drills will take place in three stages: force assembly, harbor-based planning, and at-sea operations. The force assembly phase was completed on Sunday.
After the opening ceremony, the two navies carried out command and tactical coordination exercises. The joint command also held detailed discussions on the main training objectives for the upcoming at-sea operations.
In the next phase, participating warships will move to waters near Qingdao to conduct joint drills, including reconnaissance operations, air and missile defense, and training involving the actual use of weapons.
