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Chinese warships were observed transiting northward near Japan, while Russia was conducting a large-scale naval exercise spanning the Northern Hemisphere, including the Pacific Ocean.
Newsweek has contacted defense ministries in Beijing and Moscow for comment via email.
### Why It Matters
The Chinese navy, the world’s largest by hull count, regularly conducts joint war games and patrols with its Russian counterpart. This is part of China’s efforts to bolster its “unlimited partnership” with Russia and challenge U.S. naval dominance across the Western Pacific.
Japan, which plays a key role in an island chain strategy aimed at containing adversaries in the Western Pacific, has been tracking Chinese military aircraft and vessels near its territory. In June, Japan observed a dual aircraft carrier deployment by China.
### What to Know
According to Japan’s Defense Ministry, three Chinese ships—two destroyers (Type 052D: CNS Shaoxing and CNS Urumqi) and one supply ship (Type 903: CNS Qiandaohu)—passed through the Tsushima Strait on Thursday. They entered the Sea of Japan from the East China Sea.
The Sea of Japan borders the Korean Peninsula to the west, the Japanese archipelago to the east, and Russia’s Far East to the north, where Russia’s Pacific Fleet is based in Vladivostok.
It remains unclear whether this Chinese naval flotilla was deployed for Russia’s July Storm exercise, which started on Wednesday and ends on Sunday. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that the exercise involves the Northern, Pacific, Baltic Fleets, and the Caspian Flotilla. Over 150 naval vessels, 120 aircraft, 10 coastal defense missile systems, and more than 15,000 military personnel are participating.
### What People Are Saying
Japan’s 2025 defense white paper notes: “China has been swiftly increasing its national defense expenditures, thereby extensively and rapidly enhancing its military capability in a qualitative and quantitative manner and intensifying its activities in the East China Sea and the Pacific. Russia has also been observed engaging in joint activities with China involving aircraft and vessels.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on July 13: “China-Russia relations represent the most stable, mature, and strategically valuable major-country relationship in the world today. The two sides have always viewed and advanced bilateral cooperation in various fields from a historical depth, strategic height, and long-term perspective.”
### What Happens Next
Japan is likely to detect Russian naval activity near its territory during Exercise July Storm. If China’s participation in the exercise is confirmed, both countries’ naval forces may conduct a joint patrol in the Western Pacific to demonstrate their cooperation.
📚 Reading Comprehension Quiz
According to the passage, what event might the Chinese naval flotilla be participating in?
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