China praises navy drills with Iran and Russia in Gulf of Oman as it warns against arms race
A joint military exercise in the Gulf of Oman between the armed forces of China, Russia and Iran have enhanced the ability of their navies to conduct diversified missions, according to officials.
Tan Kefei, a spokesman for China’s Defence Ministry, said the drills further deepened friendship and practical co-operation between the three countries.
The nations sent forces including 12 ships and special operations and diving units to take part in the drills between March 15 and 19, Mr Tan said.
The Chinese Defence Ministry also said that Beijing was willing to work with the Russian military to strengthen strategic communications and co-ordination. The countries will work together to implement global security initiatives, Mr Tan said.
He said their nations would deepen military trust and jointly protect international fairness and justice.
The countries will also organise further maritime, air and other joint exercises, he added.
China’s President Xi Jinping recently visited Russia and met President Vladimir Putin – a visit the US criticised.
Mr Tan also said that nuclear submarine co-operation between Australia, the UK and US, known as the Aukus pact, may spark an arms race.
“Once Pandora’s Box is opened, the regional strategic balance will be disrupted, regional security will be seriously threatened,” he said. The Chinese Navy is the largest in the world in terms of the number of surface vessels, but its operations in the Middle East have to date been limited.
The Pentagon said in January that the Chinese Navy was outbuilding the US and would have 400 ships by 2025. The US Navy hopes to have 350 ships by 2035. Amid intensifying competition, the US and China are likely to focus naval power in the Pacific region in the near future, putting strain on the US military presence in the Arabian Gulf region. This dates back to a 1980s US policy known as the Carter Doctrine.
That policy led to the US basing significant naval power in the region to counter the Soviet Union, and later, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and post-revolution Iran. In recent years, that mission has changed to countering piracy, drugs and weapons smuggling, working with allies in a 34-nation naval task force.
The US maintains a large naval base in Bahrain, the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet, which operates over 2.5 million square kilometres in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.
Seven American carrier groups are currently at sea, according to the US Navy. None of these are in the Middle East, while four are in the Pacific region. US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Mark Milley told Congress on Wednesday that Iran, Russia and China were strengthening military co-operation.
“I wouldn’t call it a true full alliance in the real meaning of that word, but we are seeing them moving closer together, and that’s troublesome,” Gen Milley said. Beijing’s rivals in the Pacific, such as Japan, have countered its naval expansion by launching their own military build-ups.
Iran, meanwhile, has focused on building large numbers of small, highly mobile missile-armed boats, part of a strategy to swarm and overwhelm a naval rival, such as the US.
In recent years, Tehran has increasingly launched larger vessels, including multi-hulled, trimaran missile boats.
China said it will deepen military trust with Russia and they will jointly protect international fairness and justice