On Thursday, Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed the commencement of the Russian-Chinese-Iranian naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman and the air space above it. In a statement, the Ministry said that ships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet will participate in drills on January 22 after having arrived at Iran’s Chabahar port on Tuesday. Russian, Chinese and Iranian servicemen will take part in tactical exercises such as rescuing a burning ship and securing a vessel hijacked by pirates.
On Thursday, an official from Iran’s armed forces said that the “2022 Marine Security Belt” exercise will take place Friday and added that both Iran’s armed forces and Revolutionary Guards will participate in the drills. Spokesperson for the drills, Admiral Mostafa Tajoldini, said that the purpose of this exercise is to bolster security ties between the three countries and expand multilateral cooperation. Tajoldini added that the three countries “jointly support world peace, maritime security” and aims to “create a maritime community with a common future.” Russia, Iran and China have been holding joint military drills since 2019 with more plans for the future, according to Tajoldini.
Separately, the Russian military on Thursday also announced several new Navy drills across the world involving around 140 warships, 60 aircrafts, 1,000 pieces of military equipment and 10,000 troops throughout January and February. In a statement, the Defence ministry said, “The main focus of the exercises is to refine the Navy and Aerospace Forces’ actions to protect Russian national interests in the World Ocean as well as to counter military threats to Russia from the sea and ocean.”
Moscow’s announcement comes amid increasing tensions between the West and Russia over Ukraine, particularly after last week’s diplomatic engagement yielded no results. Kremlin has accused the West of causing “provocations” in neighbouring Ukraine. This new development also comes after the United States (US) President threatened that Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a “dear price” if he invades Ukraine.
Russia, Iran and China have all been subject to sanctions from the US. Washington imposed sanctions on Moscow for destabilising Ukraine’s territorial integrity, American sanctions on China were aimed at Beijing’s human rights violations against the Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region and on Iran for violating the 2015 nuclear deal.
In this context, Russia, China and Iran have been increasing cooperation between themselves. Earlier this week, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi met with Putin in Moscow in an effort to expand ties with Russia. Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian visited China, after which Tehran and Beijing announced a 25-year cooperation deal aimed at strengthening economic and political ties between them. In November, Russia and China announced plans for a five-year military partnership citing increasing concerns over the US military activity near their borders.