China-Russia joint naval drill enters 2nd day

 

Chinese and Russian naval officers have gathered for day two of their joint military exercises that brought in a combined fleet of warships, submarines and aircrafts.

Russian Pacific Fleet's flagship Varyag, a guided missile cruiser, arrives at a naval base in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, April 21, 2012, for a 6-day joint exercise.

The joint drills, taking place in the Yellow Sea between April 22 and 27, brought in 25 naval vessels, 13 aircrafts, 9 helicopters, and 2 special fighting groups, making it a large-scale joint drill compared with recent years.

Four Russian warships from the Pacific fleet, including the aircraft carrier Varyag are also participating in the drills. Missile destroyers, missile frigates, missile boats, a support vessel and a hospital ship gathered from China’s side for the drills.

The joint exercises include defense of air routes and maritime traffic routes, search and rescue operations and anti-submarine tactics. They also include joint rescues of hijacked vessels, as well as live fire practice on targets in the air, sea and underwater.

Guard of honor aboard the visiting Russian flagship Varyag is pictured during a welcome ceremony after the flagship arrives at a naval base in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, April 21, 2012, for a 6-day joint exercise.

The drill consists four stages: operation planning, troop exercises, fleet review, and exchanges and discussions. While the live fire practice on targets in the air, sea and underwater are to be carried out on Wednesday and Thursday, which will be followed by a fleet review.