In an unprecedented event due to its magnitude in terms of bilateral military cooperation, diesel-electric attack submarines of the Chinese and Russian Navies carried out their first combined patrol in the waters of the Pacific. The operations began during the current month of August, immediately after the conclusion of the Joint Sea 2025 naval exercise in the Sea of Japan, and constituted the first time that both countries employed submarine assets for this type of deployment. Until now, the joint patrols initiated in 2021 had been limited exclusively to the use of surface vessels.
The patrol included the participation of the diesel-electric submarine RFS Volkhov (B-603) of the Kilo II class of the Russian Pacific Fleet and a submarine of the PLA Navy, without it being determined which Chinese unit it was. Both followed a predetermined route that crossed the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. As support, the flotilla was accompanied by the corvette Gromky and the rescue tug Foty Krylov, tasked with reinforcing and providing logistical support and submarine search and rescue if required.
This new milestone in China–Russia military cooperation represents a new level of deepening in terms of combined naval training. Previously, both naval forces had practiced submarine rescue drills within the framework of their combined exercises, which served as a direct precedent for this first operational experience. In addition, the inclusion of submarines in patrol missions consolidates a higher degree of coordination and interoperability, aiming at combined operations in more complex and contested scenarios.
In parallel, submarine cooperation adds to the already consolidated series of patrols carried out on a sustained basis with surface assets, which celebrated their fifth edition this year. These deployments have aimed to strengthen naval cooperation, monitor sensitive maritime areas and protect key economic facilities of both nations in the Pacific region. From the Pacific Fleet it was specified that, after fulfilling the assigned missions, the crews returned to their home bases, with the Volkhov completing more than 2,000 nautical miles to the Naval Base of Vladivostok.
Lastly, the first recorded integration in patrols by attack submarines in a combined operation marks a qualitative leap in Sino–Russian naval cooperation, expanding both the scope and the complexity of their maneuvers. Beyond the immediate military signal, this deployment sends a clear geopolitical message: both powers seek to reinforce their combined deterrence capabilities in a context of growing competition and rivalry with the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region.
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