XINHUA, Qingdao, July 6 (Reporters Li Bingxuan and Li Jie) — The China-Russia "Maritime Joint-2026" joint exercise opened on the 6th at a military port in Qingdao.
The exercise has established a joint command, with mixed formations composed of naval forces from both China and Russia. At the opening ceremony, the Chinese chief exercise director stated that "Maritime Joint," as an important joint exercise mechanism between the two countries' navies, has through more than ten years of practice become an important platform for consolidating and developing relations between the two countries and their militaries, enhancing strategic mutual trust, and improving joint operational capabilities, and has raised the level of practical cooperation between the two navies and their shared capacity to respond to maritime threats. The Russian chief director stated that the "Maritime Joint" exercise has become an effective platform for improving combat coordination capabilities, exchanging professional experience, and strengthening coordination of maritime formation operations, and that this exercise will promote mutual trust between the military personnel of the two countries and enhance the capacity to jointly safeguard regional peace and stability.
The exercise is conducted in three phases: force assembly, port and shore planning, and maritime drills. Forces participating from both sides completed assembly on the 5th. Following the opening ceremony, the two countries' navies jointly carried out command simulation exercises and tactical coordination, with the joint command conducting in-depth discussions on the key drill subjects for the maritime drill phase. In the next step, participating vessels will proceed to sea and airspace near Qingdao to conduct joint drills in multiple subjects including joint reconnaissance and air defense and anti-missile operations, and will carry out live weapons employment training.