SpaceWar.com reports: “China said Wednesday it would conduct joint military drills with Russia in August, including sea and air exercises near Vladivostok and joint naval patrols in the Pacific.

Alongside economic and political ties, Moscow and Beijing have deepened military cooperation in recent years as both countries seek to counterbalance what they see as a United States-led global order.

The drills, named ‘Joint Sea-2025’, were part of regular bilateral cooperation plans and ‘not directed against third parties’, Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang told a press conference Wednesday.

After the drills, they will also conduct naval patrols in ‘relevant waters of the Pacific’, Zhang said…”