The Russian government surprisingly announces large naval exercises in the Pacific

He Ministry of Defense of Russia posted a video on its website this Friday showing several of the country’s warships, including a submarine, advancing toward the open sea under the bridge connecting the city of Vladivostok to Russki Island. It was after Minister Sergej Shoigu announced the beginning of a “surprise inspection” of the combat capability of the Pacific Fleetin which, in addition to its naval contingent, “part of the Aerospace Forces, military units and support detachments” will participate.

The purpose of this surprise inspection, according to Shojgu, is to achieve “increasing the potential of the Russian armed forces to repel a possible aggression of a hypothetical enemy from naval positions.” He specified that these are “large-scale exercises”, which will include the use of air defense against “massive missile attacks by a simulated enemy, simulations of the detection and destruction of submarines, firing torpedoes, artillery and rockets in order to destroy enemy land installations and strike groups and also to prevent the deployment of enemy forces in the operationally important area of ​​the Pacific Ocean.”

The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army, General Valeri Guerásimov, for his part, reported that the maneuvers will take place in three phases: the first foresees “full combat readiness”, in the second, the actual deployment of the entire operation is being considered, and in the third, “combat training tasks will be practically implemented” in order to, among other things, prevent the enemy from landing on the southern Kuril Islands, whose sovereignty Japan claims, and on the island of Sakhalin. Gerasimov believes that it is necessary to pay special attention to the “preparation of submarines equipped with ballistic missiles for the use of these weapons.”

Russia’s defense minister said ships, boats and auxiliary vessels “have already left their bases for certain areas in the Sea of ​​Japan, Sea of ​​Okhotsk and Bering”. Shoigu will soon receive his Chinese colleague, the newly appointed Li Shangfu, who will arrive in Moscow on Sunday. But this time, unlike previous occasions, the navy of the Asian giant will not participate in the maneuvers. Of course, according to the note published by Moscow, both politicians will “deal with bilateral cooperation in the field of defense and security issues”. It will be Lee’s first trip abroad since his appointment in March. However, regarding the war in Ukraine, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang promised his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock this Friday in Beijing that “we have not and will not sell weapons to the parties involved in this conflict.” neither Russia nor Ukraine, and that China’s idea is “to promote reconciliation and peace negotiations (…), not add fuel to the fire”.

Wink at Beijing

Despite this reassuring message, Russian experts do not rule out that naval maneuvers have begun in the Pacific a way of hinting to Beijing that when the time comes, the Kremlin might decide to militarily help them take Taiwan, in the immediate vicinity of which the Asian giant’s navy and its aviation were also performing maneuvers. Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the Russian capital last month, although no concrete agreement on military cooperation was signed. Faced with the impossibility of significant progress on the Ukrainian front, Russia is trying to show, especially on the internal level, that it has great war potential.

On Tuesday, “large-scale” maneuvers in the Arctic began, which continue today. On the same day, an “advanced” nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Kapustin Jar range in the Astrakhan region in a test the Defense Ministry described as “successful.” At the end of last month, the military conducted tests in Siberia with mobile strategic missiles RS-24 Yars, equipped with multiple atomic warheads.