China eyes Russian submarine rescue expertise in Yellow Sea naval drills

Chinese and Russian military personnel will be put through their submarine rescue paces in naval exercises this week, with Beijing hoping to gain operational experience from its strategic partner as competition heats up beneath the seas.

The Joint Sea-2026 exercise between the two navies began in the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao on Monday, underscoring deepening military cooperation between Beijing and Moscow since the annual drills were launched in 2012.

The exercise coincided with Beijing’s launch of a ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific Ocean on Monday, a rare public move that analysts said showed the operational progress of China’s sea-based nuclear deterrent while sending a signal to Washington and its regional allies.

The joint exercise includes anti-submarine warfare, search-and-rescue operations and other maritime missions such as air defence, according to Russia’s Tass news agency.

One stage of the drills would involve rescuing the crew of a simulated distressed submarine using a deep-submergence rescue vehicle, Tass reported on Monday.

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Such missions involve the location of a disabled submarine and the safe recovery of its crew, and are an important element of submarine combat support.