Naval drills with China response to 'aggressive' US: Russian army chief

Moscow - Russia’s army chief on Thursday called joint naval drills between Russian and Chinese warships a response to increasingly aggressive US military posturing in the Asia-Pacific region.

“This cooperation is a natural reaction to the aggressive build-up of US military potential in the region... The exercises we are conducting are in strict accordance with international law,” Mr Valery Gerasimov said in a briefing.

Russia announced it was dispatching several warships to join war games between Dec 21 and 27 off the coast of China to strengthen naval cooperation.

“The purpose of these events is to increase the combat readiness of the troops and forces of the two countries and the ability to withstand new challenges and threats,” Mr Gerasimov said in a briefing with foreign military representatives.

The defence ministry said the exercises would include live fire drill with missiles and artillery and include practising measures to counter submarines.

“We are not going to create any alliances and new dividing lines in the region, like Washington has,” Mr Gerasimov added on Thursday.

China and Russia have drawn closer in recent years as part of what they call a “no-limits” relationship acting as a counterweight to the global dominance of the United States.

Former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev earlier this week travelled to China to meet with President Xi Jinping for talks that Medvedev said included international security and the conflict in Ukraine.

Separately, Mr Gerasimov said on Thursday his troops in Ukraine were “focused on completing the liberation” of Donetsk, an eastern Ukrainian region Moscow claims to have annexed.

“The situation on the frontline has stabilised and the main efforts of our troops are now focused on completing the liberation of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the Russian chief of general staff said in a briefing.

Mr Gerasimov added that the line of combat stretches over 815km.

Russian armed forces have “hit more than 1,300 critical targets... significantly reducing the combat potential of the Ukrainian armed forces”, he said.

He noted that “hypersonic missiles were used for the first time in combat condition,” including Kinzhal missiles.

“Damage continues to be inflicted on critical transport and energy infrastructure deep inside Ukrainian territory,” Mr Gerasimov added.

After successful Ukrainian counter-offensives pushed Russian troops back in the northern Kharkiv and the southern Kherson regions, the epicentre of the combat has moved towards the east in Bakhmut.

Faced with a series of humiliating defeats, Russia switched to pummelling Ukrainian energy infrastructure, leaving millions without heat or power as winter sets in. AFP