China and Russia start joint naval drills after NATO calls Beijing Ukraine war 'enabler'

The exercise began in the Guangdong province on Sunday and is expected to last until mid-July.

Transcript

00:00China and Russia's naval forces kicked off a joint military exercise only days after

00:08NATO allies called Beijing a decisive enabler of the war in Ukraine.

00:14Forces from both sides patrolled the western and northern Pacific Ocean, according to the

00:19Chinese defence ministry.

00:21However, the ministry also said in their brief statement that the operation had nothing to

00:26do with international and regional situations and did not mean to target a third party.

00:34The joint drills came on the heels of China's latest tensions with NATO allies last week.

00:41Only days ago, NATO's deputy secretary-general said China was seen as directly enabling the

00:47war between Russia and Ukraine.

00:50Before that, a sternly worded communication from NATO expressed concerns over Beijing's

00:56nuclear arsenal and its capabilities in space, making it clear that China is becoming a focus

01:02of the military alliance.