China, Russia vow regular naval exchanges

The PLA navy's guided missile destroyer Shijiazhuang sails on Wednesday into the exercise areas where the live ammunition exercises are being held. Zha Chunming / Xinhua

Chinese and Russian naval forces on Wednesday pledged to jointly safeguard regional stability through closer and regular military exchanges, as they concluded the maneuvers of their largest-ever naval exercises.

"Both sides are trying to make such drills regular," said Ding Yiping, deputy commander of the navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Boosted by the joint drills, the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries is a "long-lasting and strategic" one, he said.

The chief director of Chinese task forces made the remarks at a news conference after the two sides sailed back to Vladivostok. They finished the three-day maneuvers of the "Joint Sea 2013" exercise in Peter the Great Gulf near the Far East port city on Wednesday afternoon.

Deputy Chief of the Russian Navy Main Staff Leonid Sukhanov said China and Russia are two major countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and they work together anytime to address maritime threats and secure their countries.

"Some countries believe our exercise is for regional stability while some countries hold different views, but I think that it has set an example for the other countries in safeguarding regional security and each other's national interests," he said.

According to Ding, the two task forces coordinated and integrated better than they did during the maritime joint drill held in the Yellow Sea last year.

"We have safely accomplished all the designed subjects under complex weather conditions," he said. "According to primary evaluations, we did a great job."

On Wednesday, the two navies staged joint maritime search and rescue missions and fired weapons, including anti-air, anti-sea and anti-submarine artillery.