Navy holds drills with Russia

China and Russia kicked off their annual joint naval exercises in the Baltic Sea on Saturday, the first of their kind for the Chinese Navy in Europe.

The Chinese ships arrived at the Russian seaport of Baltiysk on Friday. This year's exercise, dubbed Joint Sea 2017, will focus on strengthening Sino-Russia naval combat and coordination capabilities, as well as practicing maritime anti-piracy and emergency rescue operations.

These regular drills, which began in 2012 in the Yellow Sea, are not targeting against any other states, defense ministries from both countries said.