The Ministry of Defense announced the completion of the exercises of Russia, China and Iran in the Arabian Sea

Trilateral naval exercises of Russia, China and Iran ended in the Arabian Sea, reported on Saturday, the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The Maritime Safety Belt 2023 exercises in the Gulf of Oman started on March 15.

According to the Ministry of Defense, on March 16 and 17, the participants in the exercises worked out the formation of an interethnic detachment of warships in the designated area, joint tactical maneuvering in various formations and combat orders.

“The sailors carried out artillery firing at sea targets during the day, and at night at air targets. They also worked out the release of a captured ship with hostages and the provision of assistance to a ship in distress at sea, ”the defense ministry said in a statement.

The Russian side was represented by a detachment of ships of the Northern Fleet – the frigate “Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov” and the medium sea tanker “Kama”, from the Chinese Navy the destroyer “Nanjing” was involved, from the Iranian Navy – the frigates “Sahand” and “Jamaran”, corvette “Bayandor”, missile boat “Tondar”, small missile ship “Zereh”, supply ship “Sirzhan”, transport ship “Shahid Nazeri” and other ships and vessels.

After the end of the maritime part of the exercises, the Russian frigate made a business call to the Iranian port of Chahbahar to sum up the results of joint work at sea and replenish fresh water and food supplies, the Defense Ministry added.

The fact that Russia, Iran and China are conducting naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman from March 15 to 19 was first reported by the PRC Ministry of Defense on WeChat, later information confirmed Ministry of Defense of Russia.

The main meaning of these exercises for Russia is that they allow expanding the geography of the presence of its fleet, which is especially valuable in the current political conditions, Ilya Kramnik, a researcher at the IMEMO RAS, said earlier. The current exercises are taking place in a region that is of interest to each state, he explains: for Iran – because of its location, China – because of the stability of the supply of petroleum products, Russia – for security reasons of its partners and its own projects in the Middle East and Africa .

This is the third such tripartite naval exercise, previously held in December 2019 and January 2022. Russia’s last part was a detachment of ships from the Pacific Fleet – the missile cruiser Varyag, the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs, and the large naval tanker “Boris Butoma”. The purpose of those exercises was to ensure the safety of international shipping and the fight against sea pirates.

Russia and China held their last joint maritime exercise at the end of February 2023, together with South Africa, off the coast of this country. The combat missions of the sailors included practicing artillery firing, air defense operations and fighting pirates.