Chinese and Russian navies join forces in the Mediterranean

China’s Defense Ministry announced last week that the Russian and Chinese navies will carry out joint military drills for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea. The mid-May exercises will include firing live ammunition, as well as rescue, resupply, and other tactical maneuvers.

The “Joint Sea 2015” mission is just the latest iteration of a growing partnership between the two militaries. The drills will include nine ships, three of them Chinese vessels involved in anti-piracy patrols off Somalia, ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng announced at a news conference.

The maneuvers are indicative of China’s cooperation with Russia at a time when most nations have shunned it for its continued support for rebels in Ukraine and its unsettling disregard for the sovereignty and airspace of European neighbors.

“The purpose of the exercise is to strengthen the friendly exchanges between the two sides … and to improve the capability of the two navies to deal with maritime threats,” Geng said. The drills would not target any third parties and are not intended to be seen as a response to fighting and instability in places such as Libya and Syria, he said.

A Sino-Russian mixed military display is not entirely new. Since 2001 the two countries have been formally linked in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an Asian counterweight to NATO. Formed ostensibly for the security of its member states—Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—the club also includes Iran, Pakistan, and India among those with observer status. Through the SCO, Russia has helped China expand its influence in East Asia, while China has lent its support to Russia’s confrontation with NATO in Europe, said James Rickards, who probed the countries’ strategic ties in The Death of Money.

Also under the aegis of the SCO, China has steadily participated with Russia in numerous multilateral finance, energy, and infrastructure projects.

In a show of loyalty, Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to be in Moscow on May 9 to participate in 70th anniversary commemorations of the end of World War II. Due to sanctions, Western leaders are staying away from the event and its massive military parade. But China will send a 112-strong honor guard from its army, navy, and air force.

China has depended more recently on Russia for backing its perpetual quarrel with archrival Japan over World War II history and control of the resource-rich Senkaku islands also claimed by Japan and Taiwan, affecting the balance of power in Asia. Among other remarks last Thursday, Geng called into question a U.S.-Japan defense alliance that will allow Japan’s military to partner with U.S. forces and also have a bigger role in global military operations.

“A military alliance is an outdated product that goes against the trend of the times characterized by peace, development, cooperation, and win-win,” Geng said. “What kind of impact will it have on world and regional peace and stability?” he asked, seemingly oblivious to his own nation’s military clubbing with Russia.

The Joint Sea 2015 drills are part of China’s drive to build a solid navy, able to operate for long periods and dominate waters even at great distances from home ports. Its navy began expanding its reach toward the Mediterranean in 2008, when it first sent ships to join anti-piracy patrols.

In a new display of naval strength in 2011, China sent one of its most sophisticated warships along with military transport aircraft to aid the evacuation of nearly 35,000 Chinese citizens from Libya as it collapsed in war. And just last month, China authorized three of its navy’s anti-piracy patrol ships to rescue Chinese citizens and other foreign nationals from fighting in Yemen.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.