MOSCOW, October 14. /TASS/. The Russian and Chinese navies kicked off Joint Sea 2021 bilateral naval maneuvers in the Sea of Japan, the press office of Russia’s Pacific Fleet reported on Thursday.

"The Joint Sea 2021 Russian-Chinese naval drills are running in the Sea of Japan on October 14-17," the press office said in a statement.

The Russian Navy is represented in the drills by the large anti-submarine warfare ship Admiral Panteleyev, the Project 20380 corvettes Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and Gromky, two coastal-type minesweepers, the Project 877 submarine Ust-Bolsheretsk, a missile boat and a rescue tug.

The Chinese warships participating in the naval maneuvers include the destroyers Kunming and Nanchang, the corvettes Qinzhou and Luzhou and also a diesel submarine, a supply ship and a rescue vessel. A group of the Chinese warships arrived at the anchorage site in the Peter the Great Bay on October 13, the press office said.

Also, 12 aircraft and helicopters of the Pacific Fleet’s naval aviation and the Chinese navy are involved in the drills, the statement says.

In the course of their joint maneuvers, the crews of the warships from both countries will practice joint tactical maneuvering and mine countermeasures for naval groups and will also hold artillery firings against sea targets, hunt down and block a notional enemy’s submarine in the designated area, the press office specified.