Russia’s navy is in the midst of making its presence felt in the Indo-Pacific region. According to media reports in November, Russia deployed warships, including corvettes Gromky, Rezky and Hero of Russia Aldar Tsydenzhapov, together with support vessel Pechenga, to the South China Sea for training purposes.
Previously, the Russian warships had visited Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia in October.
On the South China Sea territorial disputes between China and various other Southeast Asian claimants, Russia has expressed its support for China.
In October, a U.S. official accused Russia and China of blocking a statement for the East Asia Summit prepared by Southeast Asian countries (ASEAN), primarily over disagreements over language regarding the disputed South China Sea, the key part being reference to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
China does not recognize a 2016 arbitral ruling that said its claim to most of the South China Sea had no basis under UNCLOS, to which China is a signatory.
Philippine lawmaker Rufus Rodriguez castigated Russia for blocking the ASEAN draft statement, saying that Russia should not meddle in regional affairs.
“Russia should not have blocked the ASEAN statement. Moscow has no business meddling in disputes in this part of our region,” Rodriguez, chairperson of the House of Representatives’ committee on constitutional amendments, said.
Rodriguez added that Russia’s move to block the ASEAN statement arose from self-interest, as China has been backing Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
“It’s an expression of gratitude to Beijing over the latter’s support for the illegal and unjustified ‘military operation’ of Russia in Ukraine, and the continued killing of Ukrainian civilians,” Rodriguez said.
Tensions between Chinese and Philippine coast guards and naval forces in the West Philippine Sea have sharply escalated in recent months. Multiple confrontations have occurred, with Chinese vessels ramming and using water cannons against Philippine ships, resulting in damage and injuries.
West Philippine Sea is the official designation by the government of the Philippines to the parts of the South China Sea that are included in the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The growing crisis has raised concerns that the U.S., a treaty ally of the Philippines, could be drawn into a major conflict.
In July, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and the Russian Navy conducted joint military training drills in the South China Sea (China – Russia Joint Sea 2024 exercise), after a separate joint naval patrol that stretched from northern Pacific waters to the South China Sea.
Such joint drills, including live-fire training courses, stationary defense, joint reconnaissance and early warning and joint search and rescue as well as joint air defense, effectively boosted the ability of the two countries to jointly respond to maritime security threats.
The PLA Navy stressed that the China-Russia joint patrols do not target any third party and are not related to current international and regional situations.
China and Russia have held multiple editions of Joint Sea exercises since 2012, and their joint maritime patrols were held four times since 2021.
Photo credit: iStock/ e-crow
