By Vladimir Soldatkin and Dmitry Antonov
MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned the United States against trying to outgun Moscow in Asia as Russian and Chinese warships held joint drills as part of the biggest Russian naval exercises since the Soviet era.
Putin said the wider “Ocean-2024” strategic exercise would be conducted from the Mediterranean to the Pacific and would test units’ combat-readiness and the use of high-precision weapons, including promising new types.
It would also incorporate lessons learned from Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“We pay special attention to strengthening military cooperation with friendly states,” he told military officials in televised remarks at the launch of the manoeuvres.
“Today, in the context of growing geopolitical tensions in the world, this is especially important. We see that the United States of America is trying to maintain its global military and political dominance at any cost.”
Putin said Russia should be ready for any developments and would keep strengthening its naval forces, including their nuclear component, in the face of what he described as an arms race driven by Washington.
“Under the pretext of countering the allegedly existing Russian threat and containing the People’s Republic of China, the United States and its satellites are increasing their military presence near Russia’s western borders, in the Arctic, and in the Asia-Pacific region,” he said.
“The United States and its allies are openly declaring their plans to deploy medium- and shorter-range missiles in the so-called forward zones.”
The United States says its alliances in the Pacific, such as the AUKUS partnership with Britain and Australia, are aimed at deepening military cooperation to promote regional stability. AUKUS last year announced a joint plan that would provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines from the early 2030s to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific.
“With its aggressive actions, the United States is trying to achieve a tangible military advantage, thereby breaking the existing security architecture and balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region,” Putin said.
Navy commander Alexander Moiseyev reported to him that four Chinese vessels and 15 planes were exercising with Russian forces.
China’s official Xinhua news agency said on Monday the aim was to deepen “the level of strategic coordination between the Chinese and Russian militaries and enhance their ability to jointly respond to security threats”.
The drills with China are part of much larger Russian manoeuvres that will run until Sept. 16 in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and the Mediterranean, Baltic and Caspian seas.
Moiseyev told Putin that these would involve more than 90,000 Russian servicemen, over 400 vessels, 125 aircraft and more than 7,500 units of weaponry.
Russia’s armed forces have been heavily stretched on land and sea for the past two and a half years by its war in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces, despite being vastly outgunned in naval firepower, have managed to inflict damaging blows on Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet.
Russia has nevertheless continued to stage large-scale military exercises – including thousands of miles away in its far east – in order to project power and build defence ties with partners, especially China.
(Additional reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; writing by Mark Trevelyan, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
