Last week, Russia, China, and Iran began conducting combined naval exercises with in Gulf of Oman, displaying their readiness to work together on maritime operations. It is the 2nd Russian-Chinese naval endeavour in the past two months and the third naval drill involving the three countries since the beginning of 2019.
The "Security Belt 2023" practise is taking place in the waters off of the port of Chabahar from Wednesday through Saturday. Events at ocean, including as a search and rescue drill and a gunnery exercise, will take place on Thursday and Friday.
The drills are being conducted by the corvette Bayandor, which was built in 1964, as well as the Iranian Navy naval vessels Sakhand and Jamaran. China sent the Nanning destroyer, while Russia sent the ship Admiral Gorshkov. Both are cutting-edge, multipurpose surface vessels, and Gorshkov is equipped with the Zircon, Russia's newest hypersonic antiship missile.
The experiment "is not intended towards any third party," the Chinese state-owned publication Global Times stated.
Each of the three countries has a strained relationship with the US and essentially supports Russia in its continuing invasion of Ukraine. Iran has provided military drones to Russian forces, which have frequently been used to strike the Ukrainian electrical grid. According to the U.S. administration, China's engagement has been restricted to logistical support and the provision of nonlethal supplies; nonetheless, the White House has charged Beijing of exploring plans to directly provide Moscow with armaments.
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