Russian and Chinese warships began joint drills in the Sea of Japan on Tuesday, part of a major naval exercise that President Vladimir Putin said was the largest of its kind for three decades.
Moscow and Beijing have deepened military and economic cooperation in recent years, as both countries seek to counterbalance what they see as a United States-led global order.
Russia's Ocean-2024 exercise will take place in the Pacific and Arctic as well as the Mediterranean, Caspian and Baltic Seas and is the first of its type "in the last three decades," Putin said in a televised address.
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