Russian and Chinese warships arrive Iran

for annual naval drills between the three countries

Russian and Chinese warships arrived in waters off Iran on Monday for annual naval drills between the three countries.

The main phase of the drills, known as Marine Security Belt, will begin on Tuesday near the port city of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said the drills aim to strengthen security in the region.

It is also said to be aimed at expanding multilateral cooperation between participating countries.

The Gulf of Oman is strategically important for global trade.

It leads to the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which is a key shipping route for oil.

ABOUT THE DRILLS

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it was sending two corvettes and a tanker from the Pacific Fleet.

In a statement, it said the crews will work out tasks of liberation of captured ships.

It will also work out tasks of search and rescue at sea and conduct artillery firing at sea and air targets.

It added that these will take place for several days in the northern part of the Indian Ocean.

The Chinese Defense Ministry said on social media it would deploy “a destroyer and a supply ship.”

Meanwhile, Iran said it contributed 10 ships from both its navy and the Revolutionary Guard.

This annual joint exercises in the Gulf of Oman on Monday, held to show off the military ties of the three countries.

This comes as US President Donald Trump upends longstanding Western alliances.

The “Security Belt-2025” drills, taking place near the Iranian port of Chabahar, is the fifth joint naval exercise Iran, China and Russia have held since 2019.

This is according to Chinese state media.

Analysts have long seen the drills as a demonstration of the growing partnership among the three authoritarian powers as they seek to counterbalance US influence and challenge the Western-led global order.

But this year, the optics are even more pronounced as Trump disrupts the transatlantic alliance – a cornerstone of Western security for decades.

Trump seeks to achieve this by embracing Russia at the expense of Ukraine, and pushing Asian allies to pay more for US protection.

Reacting to the joint naval drills, Trump said he is “not at all” concerned about the show of force by the three US adversaries.

Trump told Fox News aboard Air Force One, “We’re stronger than all of them. We have more power than all of them.”

Concerns have been mounting in Washington about the emerging strategic partnership among China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

US lawmakers have described  the partnership as an “axis of authoritarianism,” “axis of autocrats” and “axis of dictators.”

The fear is that a shared animosity toward the US is increasingly driving these countries to work together.

This amplifies the threat that any one of them alone poses to Washington or its allies, not just in one region but perhaps in multiple parts of the world at the same time.

At the same time, Trump has openly embraced Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a bid to end the war in Ukraine by talking directly to Moscow while leaving Kyiv and European allies on the sidelines.

Russia and North Korea’s military relationship has strengthened considerably over the last year.

Both countries signed a mutual defense agreement and Pyongyang sending its troops to fight for Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine.

The drills come amid heightened tension between US and Iran.

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