Russia China Naval Exercise Starts

China and Russia is holding eight days of naval drills in the South China Sea off southern China’s Guangdong province.

The “Joint Sea-2016” exercise will feature surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, ship-borne helicopters and marines.

The two countries will carry out defence, rescue and anti-submarine operations, as well as “island seizing” and other activities.

The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the contested waters after an arbitration court in The Hague ruled that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea and criticised its environmental destruction there.

China rejected the ruling and refused to participate in the case. China claims most of the South China Sea.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have rival claims.