China, Russia, Iran conduct joint naval exercises in Gulf of Oman

China, Iran and Russia are conducting joint naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman from March 15-19, the Chinese and Russian defence ministries said on Wednesday.

The drills, the 2023 edition of the "Marine Security Belt" exercises, will help "deepen practical cooperation among the navies of participating countries", China's defence ministry said.

Russia's defence ministry said the active phase of the exercises would be on March 16-17, involving various joint manoeuvres including daytime and night-time artillery firing.

The Russian defence ministry said in a statement that the trilateral exercises had begun in the vicinity of the Iranian port of Chabahar.

Russia will be represented by the Admiral Gorshkov frigate and a medium-sized tanker, the ministry said.

President Vladimir Putin has sought to ramp up political, economic and military ties with China and Iran after he sent troops to Ukraine a year ago, triggering multiple rounds of unprecedented Western sanctions.

(Reuters, AFP)