China, Russia navies to hold drills off China coast

The Chinese and Russian navies will hold joint exercises in the waters and airspace off the Chinese city of Qingdao this month, China's defence ministry said on Sunday. "Following the exercises, some of the forces from both sides will proceed to relevant areas of the Pacific Ocean to carry out joint maritime patrols," it said in a statement. The drills are an annual occurrence, "aimed at jointly addressing security challenges and maintaining regional peace and stability", it said.