China and Russia Announce Naval Drills in NATO Summit Week
The Chinese and Russian navies will hold joint exercises in the waters and airspace off Qingdao from Monday to 13 July, China’s defence ministry announced, followed by joint maritime patrols in the Pacific. The annual drills open the day before NATO’s 32 leaders convene in Ankara, in a week Beijing and Moscow evidently intend to spend demonstrating their own alignment.
The timing is the message: as the Atlantic alliance meets to reaffirm collective defence and fund Ukraine’s resistance to Russia, Moscow’s navy exercises alongside China’s off the Shandong coast — a reminder that pressure on Russia in Europe is answered by partnership in Asia. The follow-on Pacific patrols extend the signal towards Japan and the American west coast. For NATO’s Asia-Pacific partners attending Ankara, including South Korea’s president, the drills sharpen the argument that the two theatres are one strategic picture. Watch the scale of what actually sails, and any coincidence with summit announcements midweek.