Sino-Russian Flotilla Circumnavigates Japan and Outer Islands
Published
Aug 9, 2026 1:01 PM by
The Maritime Executive
Ships from the Chinese PLA Navy (PLAN) North Sea Fleet and Russia’s Pacific Fleet have completed their annual presence exercise in areas off Japan and Taiwan as an act of joint solidarity
The 16-day patrol set off from the headquarters base of the PLAN North Sea Fleet at Qingdao, in Shandong province, on July 13. The flotilla appear to have circumnavigated Japan, cruising as far south as Okinotori Island in the Western Pacific, where the flotilla conducted a naval gunnery exercise, and as far north as the Sea of Okhotsk. The route took in the Miyako Strait, between Okinawa and the Japanese islands off the eastern coast of Taiwan, passed the heavily-disputed Senaku Islands belonging to Japan, but appears to have avoided the Strait of Taiwan. There does not appear to have been any attempt to monitor or interfere with the US Pacific Command’s Exercise RIMPAC 2026 mounted from Hawaii and which ended on July 31. RIMPAC 2026 involved 30 nations, more than 30 surface ships, five submarines and 15 national land contingents.
The PLAN vessels deployed were the Type 052DL destroyer PLANS Kaifeng (D124), the Type 055 destroyers PLANS Anshan(D103) and the Type 903A replenishment ship supply ship PLANS Kekexilihu(K903). The Russians participated with the Steregushchiy Class corvette RFS Rezky(F343). It is not clear if either the Kilo-II Class submarine RFS Ufa(B588) or the PLAN Yuan Class diesel-electric submarine which had participated with the other ships in the preceding Exercise Joint Sea 2026 accompanied the flotilla. But the Russian Slava Class missile cruiser RFS Varyag(D11) appears to have gone straight home to Vladivostok from Qingdao at the end of the exercise.
The PLAN symbols mark the sea areas patrolled by the joint Sino-Russian flotilla (Google Earth/CJRC)
Stay on Top of the Daily Maritime NewsThe maritime news
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
This was a particularly important deployment for the Russian Navy, firstly demonstrating the solidity of their military alliance with China, at a time when the war in Ukraine is not going well and there is a need therefore for moral support. It is also now one of the only areas in the world where the Russian Navy can exercise with all its previous pride and hauteur, without being threatened by the Ukrainians – at least for now.
For the PLAN, the exercise is important as well. Although modernizing and expanding at a very rapid rate, the PLAN’s naval expertise and skills inevitably lag some way behind, as new ships and new crews acquire sea-going experience. The opportunity therefore to conduct a medium-range patrol, though sensitive areas and presenting challenges requiring good command judgement, is a valuable learning experience. Nonetheless, the PLAN has some way to go before it can match the USS Abraham Lincoln(CVN-72)’s 210 consecutive days at sea, largely whilst also conducting combat operations.
