China sends submarine to Russia in major first amid expanding joint drills

In a historic first, China has deployed a Kilo-class submarine to dock in Vladivostok as part of the ongoing 'Joint Sea-2025' naval exercises with Russia. The move marks a deepening of military ties between the two nations and highlights their growing alignment amid heightened global tensions.

The diesel-electric submarine, known for its stealth and versatility, is joining Russian naval forces in a series of coordinated drills in the Sea of Japan and surrounding waters. This is the first time a Chinese submarine has physically participated in Russian-hosted exercises, indicating a new level of strategic trust and underwater warfare coordination between the two militaries.

'Joint Sea-2025' builds on more than a decade of annual China-Russia maritime drills, but this year’s iteration is notably more complex and wide-ranging. The exercises include joint anti-submarine warfare, search-and-rescue operations, coordinated missile strikes, and simulated sea control missions. The expanded scope comes amid intensifying friction between both countries and the West, with Moscow and Beijing positioning their military partnership as a counterbalance to U.S.-led alliances in the Indo-Pacific.

Last month, China and Russia also conducted joint aerial patrols over the East China Sea and Sea of Japan, triggering protest flights from Japanese and South Korean fighter jets. Earlier in the year, their navies held a surprise patrol near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, prompting a response from the U.S. Navy.

Experts believe the submarine deployment to Vladivostok carries strategic weight and that it reflects a growing operational integration that goes beyond surface-level cooperation and into the traditionally guarded domain of undersea warfare. As China and Russia continue to stage increasingly sophisticated exercises, their military partnership is reshaping regional security calculations from Northeast Asia to the Arctic.

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