10 Chinese and Russian warships pass through the Japanese islands

A combination of 10 Russian Navy and Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy ships sailed from the Sea of ​​Japan to the Pacific Ocean via the Tsugaru Strait between the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, a the Joint Staff of the Japanese Self-Defense Force said in a press release.

The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force spotted the ships on Monday in waters about 70 miles southwest of Okushiri Island in Hokkaido. The ships sailed east across the Strait into the Pacific Ocean. The statement said it was the first time that warships from the two countries have sailed jointly through the strait. Joint Chiefs of Staff statement identified Chinese ships as Type 055 destroyers Nanchang (101), type 052D destroyer Kuming (172), type 054a frigates Binzou (515) and Liuzhou (573) and an unnamed supply ship (902). Russian ships were destroyers Tributes to the admiral (564) and Admiral Panteleyev (548), corvette Gromkiy (335) and Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov (339) and the missile field instrumentation ship Marshal Krylov (331).

The JMSDF monitored the passage of ships via P-3C Orions of Fleet Air Wing 2 stationed at Hachinohe Air Base, Honshu and JS minesweepers Izushima (MSC-687) and JS Aoshima (MSC-689), according to the press release.

The Tsugaru Strait is an international waterway that allows foreign ships to transit it. The narrowest point of the strait is 12.1 miles (19.5 km), and Japan’s territorial waters extend only three nautical miles (5.6 km) into the strait, unlike 12 nautical miles ( 22.22 km) adopted internationally.

Previously, PLAN ships participated in the Sea Interaction 2021 exercise between the two countries from October 14 to 17. submarine. Russian naval assets participating in the exercise, as stated in the statement, were Admiral Panteleyev, Gromkiy, Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov, submarine Ust- Bolcheretsk (B-494), two base minesweepers, a missile boat and a rescue tug. Both Marines conducted target practice simulating floating mines and surface ships, air defense training was conducted with Air Force and Army Su-30SM fighters Eastern Military District Air Defense and Naval Air Force helicopters from the Pacific Fleet playing the role of air attackers said the statement and added that the final leg of the exercise involved ships from both navies , with the support of anti-submarine planes, conducting a joint search and blockade of a simulated enemy submarine in the designated area. The Russian Defense Ministry also posted a short video of the exercise on Facebook.

The statement pointed out that joint naval exercises had been regular since 2012 and that no exercises had taken place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The exercise raised speculation from both countries trying to counterbalance the intensive number of exercises in the region being conducted by the QUAD partnership of the United States, Japan, India and Australia, the various multilateral exercises involving the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21) with the navies of the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

During Russian-Chinese naval exercises last week in the Sea of ​​Japan, Russia said it had driven a US warship from its waters, a claim the US Navy denied, USNI previously reported.

USS Chafee (DDG-90) was conducting “routine operations” in the Sea of ​​Japan when the Russian Udaloy-class destroyer Tributes to the admiral approach. The US Navy said in its statement last week that Chafee was in the area before the waters closed for the exercises.

In the Indian Ocean, the Australian, Japanese, United States and United Kingdom navies have concluded Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) 2021 in the eastern Indian Ocean, which was held from October 15 to 18. The American contingent consisted of Carrier Strike Group 1 including the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) with onboard Carrier Air Wing 2 (CVW 2), cruiser USS Champlain Lake (CG-57) and the destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG-106), with the tanker USNS Yukon (T-AO-202) while the Japanese contingent consists of the helicopter destroyer JS Kaga (DDH-184) with the destroyer JS Murasame (DD101) which are being deployed as part of the JMSDF Indo-Pacific Deployment 2021 (IPD21) working group. UK participation consists of CSG 21 main body consisting of transporter HMS queen elizabeth (R08), ​​HMS destroyers Defender (D36) and USS The Sullivans (DDG-68), frigate HMS Richmond (F239), tankers RFA Fort Victoria (A387) and RFA Tidespring (A136) with the Australian frigate HMAS Ballarat (FFH155) completes the group.

The four Marines engaged in enhanced planning, advanced maritime communication operations, anti-submarine warfare operations, air warfare operations, live fire events, replenishments at sea, flight operations between bridges and maritime interdiction operations, according to a press release Vinson.

“MPX is premium multi-domain maritime training at its best,” Rear Admiral Dan Martin, commander of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 said in the statement.. “The four participating nations have enduring interests in the security, stability and well-being of the Indo-Pacific region. We will continue to refine our collective strengths – speed, accuracy, lethality – to maximize our combat proficiency with our trusted regional partners. “

In Southeast Asia, the countries of the Five Power Defense Arrangements concluded Exercise Bersama Gold 2021 which began on October 8 with a naval and air demonstration off Singapore on October 18 to mark the 50th anniversary of the FPDA through the United Kingdom. HMS destroyer diamond (D34) which is part of CSG 21, had to withdraw from the display due to technical problems.

Exercise Bersama Gold 2021 involved maritime and air exercises in the international waters of the South China Sea between the coasts of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, where series such as anti-aircraft and anti-submarine exercises, artillery fire and maneuver exercises were carried out. The air forces of FPDA member countries have trained among themselves in air series such as air defense exercises over the airspace of Peninsular Malaysia, and support the maritime component in anti-submarine exercises.

diamond had been one of 10 ships participating in Exercise Bersama Gold along with nine other ships and a submarine.

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