MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. A group of Russian warships will continue accomplishing long-distance deployment missions after the joint trilateral exercise with the Chinese and South African navies in the Indian Ocean, the press office of Russia’s Northern Fleet reported on Monday.
"Today the trilateral naval exercise involving combat ships and support vessels from the Russian Navy, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Navy and the South African National Defense Force have come to an end in the waters of the Indian Ocean. The Northern Fleet’s naval task force continues accomplishing its long-distance deployment objectives in accordance with the plan," the press office said in a statement.
During the three days of the naval maneuvers, the participating sides practiced forming a multinational naval task force, conducting joint tactical maneuvering and carrying out mine countermeasures in the course of transit by sea with firings against a target simulating a floating mine, the press office said.
The warships of the Russian, Chinese and South African navies also held artillery firings against a naval target, exercised to free a captured vessel with hostages, render assistance to a ship in distress and personnel afloat. Some exercises aboard the missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov involved a deck-based Ka-27 helicopter, it said.
Russia was represented in the trilateral naval exercise by the frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the medium sea tanker Kama. China was represented by the frigate Rizhao, the destroyer Huainan and the support ship Kekexilihu and the South African Navy involved the frigate Mendi.
The current maneuvers are the second trilateral naval exercise. Russia had the status of the lead country in the drills. The first such trilateral naval exercise took place off South Africa’s southwestern Atlantic coast near Cape Town in November 2019.