China, Russia start joint naval drills

BEIJING — Chinese and Russian naval forces kicked off a joint exercise at a military port in southern China on Sunday, state media reported, days after North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies called Beijing a "decisive enabler" of the war in Ukraine.

In a brief statement, China's Defense Ministry said forces from both countries recently patrolled the western and northern Pacific Ocean, and that the operation had nothing to do with international and regional situations and didn't target any third party.