Russia-China naval drills involve 90,000 personnel

Russia’s September 2024 “Ocean-2024” exercise is the event behind the often-repeated claim that Russia and China held naval drills involving more than 90,000 personnel. The number came from the Russian Defense Ministry’s description of a wider Russian strategic naval exercise, not from a stand-alone bilateral drill limited to Chinese and Russian ships in one location. China did take part, and Beijing separately announced its own “Northern/Interaction-2024” exercise with Russia in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. (interfax-russia.ru) The distinction matters because the social-media shorthand can make the episode sound narrower than it was. (en.kremlin.ru) Moscow described Ocean-2024 as a multi-theater exercise spanning the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and the Mediterranean, Caspian and Baltic Seas, under the overall supervision of Russian Navy chief Alexander Moiseyev. Beijing, for its part, said Russian naval and air forces would join Chinese-led drills and a joint maritime patrol under an annual cooperation plan. ### Where does the 90,000 figure actually come from? The Russian Defense Ministry said on September 10, 2024, that Ocean-2024 involved more than 400 warships, submarines and support vessels, more than 120 aircraft and more than 90,000 personnel. (interfax-russia.ru) Russian state and Kremlin materials described it as one of the main operational and combat-training events of the year. That means the 90,000 figure referred to the broader Russian exercise framework. Publicly available official descriptions do not show China contributing anything close to that total on its own; rather, Chinese ships and aircraft were participating within or alongside the larger set of maneuvers. (interfax-russia.ru) ### So were these really joint Russia-China drills? China’s Ministry of National Defense said on September 9, 2024, that Russia would send naval and air forces to join “Northern/Interaction-2024” in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. (interfax-russia.ru) Beijing said the exercise was intended to deepen strategic coordination and improve the two militaries’ ability to respond jointly to security threats. Chinese military reporting said Chinese officers arrived in Vladivostok on September 8, 2024, and set up a joint command headquarters for the exercise. (eng.mod.gov.cn) U.S. Naval Institute reporting, citing Chinese and Russian official statements, said the two countries also planned a joint maritime patrol in the Pacific. ### How broad was Ocean-2024 beyond the Sea of Japan? The Kremlin said Ocean-2024 would run from September 10 through September 16, 2024. Russian officials said the maneuvers stretched across five maritime areas: the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and the Mediterranean, Caspian and Baltic Seas. (eng.mod.gov.cn) Those details show why references to a single “Russia-China naval drill” can flatten several overlapping activities into one label. There was a bilateral component in East Asian waters, but the 90,000-person figure belonged to a much larger Russian-led exercise. (eng.mod.gov.cn) ### What did Putin and Chinese officials say about the purpose? President Vladimir Putin said Russia was paying “special attention” to military cooperation with “friendly states” amid what he called rising geopolitical tensions. Defense News and Kremlin materials both recorded that language in connection with Ocean-2024. (en.kremlin.ru) China’s defense ministry was more specific about the bilateral piece, saying the drills were part of the annual plan and bilateral consensus and were meant to deepen strategic coordination. That is the clearest official explanation from Beijing for why Russian forces were joining Chinese-led activity in the Sea of Japan and Sea of Okhotsk. (en.kremlin.ru) ### What is the cleanest way to describe the claim? A precise version is this: Russia’s Ocean-2024 exercise, launched on September 10, 2024, involved more than 90,000 personnel overall, and Chinese naval and air forces participated in related joint drills and patrols. (en.kremlin.ru) Saying simply that “Russia and China held naval drills with 90,000 personnel” compresses the official record, but it points back to a real exercise and a real Russian troop figure. September 16, 2024, was the official end date Moscow gave for Ocean-2024, while Beijing’s defense ministry directed readers to its announcements on Northern/Interaction-2024 and the accompanying joint maritime patrol for the bilateral component. (eng.mod.gov.cn) (en.kremlin.ru) (interfax-russia.ru)