During the course of this week, the Chinese and Russian navies concluded an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the Sea of Japan known as Joint Sea 2025, which lasted five days following its start on August 1. During the drills, both forces simulated the presence of an enemy submarine supported by an amphibious assault ship—targets that were to be tracked and eliminated in defense of their coastal positions in the Pacific. The exercise also included a simulated rescue of a damaged submarine on the high seas.
Delving into the known details of the exercise, it is worth noting that the search and destruction of the enemy submarine was primarily carried out by two maritime patrol aircraft: a Y-8 plane from the Chinese Navy, and an IL-38 from its Russian counterpart. Meanwhile, the naval elements deployed by both forces focused on attacking a surface target simulating the aforementioned enemy amphibious assault ship, which involved a joint live-fire exercise using naval guns.
In terms of the warships deployed from the port of Vladivostok for the drills, the Chinese Navy sent its destroyers CNS Urumqi (118) and CNS Shaoxing (134), supported by the replenishment ship CNS Qiandaohu (886), the rescue ship CNS Xihu (841), and the submarine Great Wall 210. On the Russian side, the Navy deployed the destroyer RFS Admiral Tributs (564), accompanied by the corvette RFS Gromkiy (335), the rescue vessel Igor Belusov, and the submarine RFS Volkov (B-603).
Regarding the submarine rescue drill, available information indicates that it was conducted in Peter the Great Bay, which forms the entrance to the previously mentioned Russian port city. In this scenario, the Russian submarine RFS Volkov submerged to the seabed to simulate an emergency, while the Chinese rescue ship Xihu led the search using its LR-7 submersible, capable of docking with the Russian submarine. This was followed by a simulated evacuation of the submarine’s crew. In a subsequent phase, nearly identical maneuvers were performed with roles reversed, involving the Chinese submarine Great Wall 210 and the Russian rescue ship Igor Belusov.
Looking at the broader impact of the exercise, it is important to mention that Japan kept its assets on alert to monitor every step of the Chinese and Russian naval and aerial maneuvers, issuing multiple statements that tracked the passage of forces through waters near the island nation. Additionally, the movement of Chinese warships sailing through the Philippine Sea—although not directly involved in the joint exercise—was also monitored after they passed near the Miyako and Okinawa islands. This tracking was carried out by a P-3 Orion aircraft and the JS Towada, both from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Images used for illustrative purposes only.
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