China, Russia naval drill in South China Sea to begin on September 12

The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the contested waters after an arbitration court in The Hague ruled in July that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea and criticised its environmental destruction there. China rejected the ruling and refused to participate in the case. The “Joint Sea-2016” exercise will feature surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, shipborne helicopters and marines, the Chinese navy said in a statement on its official micro-blog. The two countries will carry out defence, rescue and anti-submarine operations, as well as “island seizing” and other activities, it added. 

Marines will participate in live-fire drills, island defence and landing operations in the largest operation ever undertaken by the two countries’ navies. China announced that it had called the “routine” naval exercise in July, saying the drills were aimed at strengthening cooperation and not aimed at any other country. China and Russia are veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, and have held similar views on many major  issues such as the crisis in Syria, often putting them at odds  with the United States and Western Europe. Last year, they held joint military drills in the Sea of Japan and the Mediterranean. China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.