Overview

• China and Russia concluded their five-day Joint Sea-2025 exercise near Vladivostok on August 5 and immediately transitioned to a joint naval patrol across the Western Pacific.
• U.S., British and Japanese carrier strike groups have been conducting multilateral drills since August 4 in the Western Pacific, deploying vessels such as USS George Washington, HMS Prince of Wales and JS Kaga.
• India and the Philippines completed their inaugural bilateral maritime patrols in the South China Sea on August 4, drawing a protest from China’s Foreign Ministry against third-party involvement.
• Beijing reiterated that territorial disputes should be resolved by directly concerned parties only, while Australia’s opposition accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of showing weakness over the expanding naval activities.
• The synchronized exercises highlight deepening Sino-Russian naval cooperation under a ‘no-limits’ partnership and reinforce AUKUS and QUAD security frameworks in the region.