Early Monday morning, while a missile-launching cruiser, a submarine, and several Russian warships docked in the Chinese port of Qingdao to start a new round of joint naval maneuvers with the Chinese Navy, thousands of kilometers away in Ankara, NATO leaders' teams were finalizing speeches for a summit where the growing coordination between Beijing and Moscow will also be on the agenda.
The timing of these events can hardly be considered coincidental. Each move seems calculated to convey the same message: in the face of an Atlantic Alliance seeking to strengthen its deterrence capabilities, China and Russia continue to tighten a military bond that just a decade ago seemed unthinkable.
The exercises, which will last until July 13 off the eastern coast of China, will bring together destroyers, frigates, submarines, embarked helicopters, marine infantry units, and rescue vessels from both countries. The maneuvers will include reconnaissance operations, air defense, anti-missile defense, simulated attacks against surface targets, and joint patrols in the Pacific waters.
On paper, the Chinese Ministry of Defense presents these new maneuvers as routine activities aimed at "maintaining regional peace and stability." In practice, they represent a new show of force by two increasingly united military powers.
The relationship between both armies is growing closer. Since 2012, they have held joint naval exercises almost every year, and since 2021, they have regularly patrolled the Pacific. This has been complemented by coordinated flights of strategic bombers near Japan, South Korea, and Alaska, ground maneuvers, and an increasing exchange between military academies.
This rapprochement has intensified since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. While the West imposed unprecedented economic sanctions on Moscow, Beijing refrained from condemning the Kremlin's offensive, increased bilateral trade, and strengthened its political cooperation with a key partner.
Putin's regime, in need of markets, investments, and diplomatic support, found an economic lifeline in Xi's government. China, in turn, solidified its relationship with an ally willing to challenge the international order led by the United States.
But behind the many photos of Xi and Putin shaking hands (most recently in Beijing last May) lies a not-so-subtle military rapprochement. The latest evidence comes from a Reuters investigation revealing that Russia trained Chinese military personnel last year at facilities of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), a cooperation personally authorized by the Russian Defense Minister, Andrei Belousov.
According to the documentation reviewed by the agency, several generals from both countries participated in training programs on radiological, chemical, and biological defense, protection of critical infrastructure, and other particularly sensitive areas. Beijing vehemently denied that information last week, calling it "slander," but several European officials claim to have independently confirmed these exchanges.
That news raised concerns in Brussels. Russia now has over four years of experience in high-intensity warfare in Ukraine, while the Chinese military, despite being the world's largest by number of personnel and one of the most technologically advanced, has not engaged in a large-scale conflict.
Analysts point out that, for Beijing, closely observing the tactical, logistical, and technological lessons learned from the Ukrainian front is an immensely valuable asset for future crises, especially in scenarios like the Taiwan Strait. Russia brings real combat experience and operational knowledge; China offers industrial muscle, technological capacity, and an economy capable of partially offsetting Russia's isolation.
The maneuvers between China and Russia also coincide with another show of force in Northeast Asia. While the vessels of both powers were preparing to deploy off Qingdao, Kim Jong-un personally supervised from a coastal observation post a new naval armament test aimed at showcasing the rapid transformation of the North Korean Navy.
In front of state propaganda cameras, a dozen cruise missiles were rapidly launched from the Kang Kon destroyer, in an image carefully designed to project the idea that Pyongyang no longer aims to merely defend its coastline but to develop a genuine nuclear deterrence capability from the sea.
The launch took place just days before the start of joint naval exercises between China and Russia and was interpreted as a reminder that North Korea also seeks to occupy a prominent place in the new military balance taking shape in Asia.
For years, the North Korean navy was considered an obsolete coastal force of little strategic relevance. However, the addition of two 5,000-ton destroyers, along with the reported construction of a nuclear-powered submarine, signals a qualitative leap in the regime's offensive capabilities.
During Friday's test, the Kang Kon fired cruise missiles, naval artillery pieces, automatic cannons, and tested its electronic warfare systems. The state-run KCNA agency stated that the goal was to verify the integration of all combat systems of the vessel before its final incorporation into the fleet, an order that Kim Jong-un demanded to be completed within two months.
Behind this modernization effort, once again, are Moscow and Beijing. Various analysts argue that both countries have provided components, materials, and technology transfer to accelerate the North Korean naval program.
On Sunday, the South Korean military also confirmed the launch of several cruise missiles towards the Sea of Japan, identified as projectiles from the Hwasong family, a system that Pyongyang considers suitable for equipping its new destroyers and, officially classified as "strategic," experts interpret as being prepared to carry nuclear warheads.
"We must continue to steadily expand a reliable war deterrent capability," proclaimed Kim after the test. His words, along with the naval maneuvers between China and Russia, paint an increasingly clear picture of the new strategic landscape in Northeast Asia: three regimes that, with varying levels of coordination, are simultaneously accelerating the development of their military capabilities.