BEIJING – Amid heightened tension in the region between Iran and the United States, Chinese Defence Ministry has said on Thursday that China, Iran and Russia, will hold joint naval exercises starting on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman.
Spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, Wu Qian told in a monthly news briefing that 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. The drill was a “normal military exchange” between the three armed forces and was in line with international law and practices, Wu said. “It is not necessarily connected with the regional situation,” he said, without elaborating.
Washington has proposed a US-led naval mission after several attacks in May and June on international merchant vessels, including Saudi tankers, in Gulf waters which the United States blamed on Iran. This clash became serious when a Saudi oil facility was blown up by drone attack which Saudi and American intelligence blamed on Iran.
The drills are also coming at a time of fraught tensions between the United States and Iran.Friction has increased since last year when US 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.