China, Iran and Russia will hold joint naval drills starting today in the Indian Ocean and Sea of Oman, China’s defence ministry said on Thursday amid heightened tension in the region between Iran and the United States.
China will send the Xining, a guided missile destroyer, to the drills, which will last until Monday, and are meant to deepen cooperation between the three countries’ navies, ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a monthly news briefing.
The drill was a “normal military exchange” between the three armed forces and was in line with international law and practices, Wu said.
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“It is not necessarily connected with the regional situation,” he said, without elaborating.
The Sea of Oman is a particularly sensitive waterway as it connects to the Strait of Hormuz – through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes – which in turn connects to the Arabian Gulf.
The drills are also coming at a time of fraught tensions between the United States and Iran.
Friction has increased since last year when U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six nations and re-imposed sanctions on it, crippling its economy.
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