Naval exercises on agenda for Asian countries; Russia to follow

China will conduct naval exercises with Russia and several Southeast Asian nations over the next few days, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday.

A multinational sea drill will take place on Friday in waters southeast of Qingdao, Shandong province. Five Chinese Navy ships will participate, along with seven vessels from Southeast Asian nations, Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang said at a news conference.

The daylong drill is the second phase of joint naval activities between China and the Southeast Asian countries that started on Wednesday. Ren said it is aimed at enhancing their cooperative capabilities in responding to pirates and medical emergencies at sea.