Moscow- The Russian Navy continues the “Ocean 2024” exercises for the strategic command and staff, which began on September 10 and will last 6 days with the participation of units of the Chinese Navy.
The maneuvers take place in the waters of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Mediterranean Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Baltic Sea.
More than 400 ships, submarines and support vessels, about 120 aircraft and helicopters of the Navy and Aerospace Forces, 7,000 units of weapons and equipment and more than 90,000 soldiers are taking part in it.
Warning messages
According to military expert Viktor Litovkin, the current maneuvers clearly demonstrate the development of military cooperation between Russia and China in the Arctic region and Beijing’s willingness to join forces with Moscow to confront the “disappearing” dominance of the United States.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Litovkin added that the maneuvers are a show of force and send warning messages to Western countries that Russia will not hesitate to protect its borders and national interests, as stipulated in the Russian defense doctrine, which focuses on the vast territory. escalation of the situation close to its limits by NATO countries.
The Russian Defense Ministry had initially announced the participation of “foreign partners” in the exercises, before the Russian news agency TASS published images of the meeting of Russian and Chinese warships in Peter the Great Bay in the Sea of Japan.
Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Alexander Moiseev explained that four Chinese warships are taking part in the maneuvers, in addition to a supply ship and 15 aircraft, “to develop practical measures to defend maritime communications and zones of maritime economic activity.”
The Ocean 2024 maneuvers are one of the most important training and combat activities of the Russian forces and are aimed at checking the combat readiness of units and formations of the Russian naval and aerospace forces and ensuring cohesion of coordination between them.
Logical action
Russian President Vladimir Putin participated – via video service – in monitoring the launch of the maneuvers and said in his speech: “The United States is trying at all costs to maintain its global military and political dominance. trying to inflict a strategic defeat on our country using Ukraine.
He continued: “Washington, under the pretext of confronting the alleged Russian threat, containing China and using its satellites, is trying to increase its military presence near Russia’s western borders, in the Arctic and in the Asia-Pacific region.” that the US administration is provoking an arms race “without regard for the security of its European and Asian allies.”
Putin stressed the need for his country to prepare for any developments in the situation and to repel any possible military aggression in all directions, including oceans and seas, explaining that the Navy plays a major role in this regard.
For his part, political writer Ergi Bersanov considered that the naval maneuvers, which take place in the context of the war in Ukraine and the threats and challenges associated with NATO maneuvers and the international situation in general, are a completely logical step on the part of Russia, which prompts it to respond.
He explained to Al Jazeera Net that these maneuvers coincide with the intensification of the Western system’s attempts to push kyiv to increase attacks against Russia, because “intelligence information flows like a river from the United States to it to achieve this goal.”
According to Bersanov, the large-scale exercises involving all naval capabilities are a test of combat readiness and a confirmation of the success of coordination and conduct of defensive operations. He added that the multiple areas of these maneuvers and their vast scope, and that they are not limited to a specific sea, are part of the preparation to confront any plans aimed at creating numerous hotbeds of tension around Russia’s land and sea borders.
Growing anxiety
Moscow’s maneuvers come after NATO began a series of drills near the Russian border that will continue through late fall, overseen by U.S. Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli.
From September 11 to 20, maneuvers will take place in Germany, including operational training on planning and implementation of missions to support and strengthen military forces. From the 30th of this month to October 11, Atlantic military exercises will take place in Greece under the supervision of the Unified Air Force Command.
Before that, on the 8th of this month, chemical and biological military exercises were launched in Slovakia, following the “Brave Warrior” exercises in Hungary that began at the end of last month.
The “Hammer 2024” exercises are scheduled to take place from October 30 to November 12 in Finland, in addition to naval exercises in Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy and Latvia.
In addition to its growing concern over the growing military cooperation between Moscow and Beijing, Washington has recently begun to express concern over what it describes as the increasing activity of Russian ships in areas where international communication lines run underwater, and believes that Moscow may be preparing to conduct “sabotage” operations there.
Although the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) has provided no evidence that Moscow is considering such actions, US military officials have repeatedly indicated that the Russian Defense Ministry has deployed a massive fleet of ships, submarines and maritime drones.