CHINA, RUSSIA KICK OFF NAVAL DRILLS NEAR NORTH KOREA

Di Vincenzo Santo*

(Da Reuters and Independent – 18 settembre 2017)

Pekin. China and Russia began naval drills near North Korea on Monday amid continuing tensions over the isolated state’s nuclear ambitions and ahead of a United Nations General Assembly meeting this week, where North Korea is likely to loom large (…) The official Xinhua news agency said the joint exercises will take place between Peter the Great Bay, just outside of the Russian far eastern port of Vladivostok, not far from the Russia-North Korea border, and into the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, to the north of Japan. (…)

The drills, which follows China-Russian naval exercise in the Baltic in July and runs until 26 September, have not been directly linked to the diplomatic crisis engulfing the region. (…) Both sides will carry out joint submarine rescue missions and anti-submarine drills involving ships and aircraft. Military sources told Russian news agency Tass the drills aimed to “consolidate partnership and practical cooperation between the two militaries” and were not aimed at any one country. (…)

The US, South Korea and Japan conducted their own bombing drills involving two American B-1B bombers and four F-35 jets from Guam and Japan. (…) China has faced criticism for failing to act decisively against Pyongyang after a string of nuclear and missile tests this summer (…) But its ambassador to the US said China would never accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state.

Manovre navali congiunte Russia e Cina

*Generale CA (Riserva)

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