China, Iran and Russia hold joint war games in Gulf of Oman
www.aljazeera.com
Military exercises running through March 16 are to involve warships and aviation.

State media reported that a grouping of ships from Russia’s Pacific Fleet, led by the Varyag cruiser, arrived at the Iranian port of Chabahar on Monday ahead of the drills that will see representatives from the navies of Azerbaijan, India, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan and South Africa act as observers.

For its part, China’s defence ministry said the drills – called “Maritime Security Belt – 2024” – were aimed at “jointly maintaining regional maritime security”.

“China will send … guided-missile destroyer Urumqi, guided-missile frigate Linyi and comprehensive supply ship Dongpinghu to participate in the exercise,” the ministry added in a statement, without providing further details.

Iranian state media, meanwhile, reported that the exercise’s goal is to strengthen “the security of international maritime trade, combating piracy and maritime terrorism”, among others.

The drills come as a United States-led naval coalition has been operating in Red Sea waters since December 2023 trying to counter the Houthi attacks.

Separately, some 20,000 troops from 13 NATO members are conducting drills in the north of new member Sweden as well as its neighbours Finland and Norway.

The Nordic exercise is part of wider exercises called Steadfast Defender 24, the largest in decades for the US-led military alliance, with up to 90,000 troops taking part over several months.

The alliance says the intention is “to demonstrate NATO’s ability to defend every inch of its territory” – widely seen as a signal to Russia.

  • partial_accumen@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    9 months ago

    Iranian state media, meanwhile, reported that the exercise’s goal is to strengthen “the security of international maritime trade, combating piracy and maritime terrorism”, among others.

    Isn’t Iran the nation that is giving intelligence and missiles to Houthi rebels that are causing the current danger to shipping in the Red Sea? A karmic response would be if an Iranian ship was hit by an Iranian missile in the Red Sea fired by the Houthis.

    • AmidFuror@fedia.io
      2·
      9 months ago

      And Iran has in recent history threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz by deploying sea mines.

      Maybe their role in the exercise is to simulate the bad guys?

  • Mrkawfee@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    9 months ago

    Good to see a multipolar world arising from the rubble of Gaza. The US and Israel have brought nothing but death and misery to millions in the Middle East

    Edit: Triggered the Muricans

        • DarkThoughts@fedia.io
          21·
          9 months ago

          Iran funds terrorists in those regions. Russia bombed and invaded those regions AND is buddies with Assad, the guy who gassed his own population. And China just brings misery to millions within their own expanded borders, while exploiting and abusing others (primarily in Africa but you will see the same pattern if they work with the Taliban & other terrorists). Stop drinking the kool-aid buddy.

        • ghostdoggtv@lemmy.worldEnglish
          16·
          9 months ago

          Or Ukrainians, or Uyghurs? Russia’s main security strategy involves using people against each other, this isn’t exactly a great look.

          • Mrkawfee@lemmy.worldEnglish
            3·
            9 months ago

            I was talking about the Middle East which is what this article is referencing. The US and Israeli dominance of this region needs to end if there’s to be any chance of peace.

            • doingthestuff@lemmy.worldEnglish
              4·
              9 months ago

              Yeah can’t allow a tiny bit of land to people who don’t conform to Middle Eastern demands, or there will be no peace!

              • Mrkawfee@lemmy.worldEnglish
                2·
                9 months ago

                It doesn’t matter if Israel conducts a genocide with US weapons and political support though does it?

                • ghostdoggtv@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  2·
                  9 months ago

                  Rhetorical question is highly rhetorical. I spend most of my free time working to undermine Likud. The government doesn’t give a fuck what I personally think.

          • bamboo@lemm.eeEnglish
            3·
            9 months ago

            The civilian death toll in Gaza has already surpassed the civilian death toll in Ukraine. As far as I’m aware any action taken against Uyghurs by China hasn’t included any form of mass killing.

        • gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          7·
          9 months ago

          Well hey, if whataboutism is allowed:

          Uighurs. Ukraine.

          You cannot expect to be a sino/russophilic cheerleader and not get those counterpoint immediately.

          • Mrkawfee@lemmy.worldEnglish
            2·
            9 months ago

            Who created the vacuum in Iraq that led to the creation of IsIs? It wasn’t the Russians.

            • cabron_offsets@lemmy.worldEnglish
              4·
              9 months ago

              Like it or not, it’s Russians propping up Assad and doing the killing, with boots on the ground. None of this started with ISIS, it started with the Arab Spring.

  • maynarkh@feddit.nlEnglish
    6·
    9 months ago

    Just did some maths.

    If the whole Iranian navy and the whole Russian Pacific Fleet participates along with the three named Chinese ships, their combined displacement will be almost as much as a single Gerard R. Ford class carrier - 80% of it, actually. To be fair though, one quarter of the displacement is the comprehensive supply ship Dongpinghu, which is a big military cargo ship, not a direct combat vessel.