For more on the ongoing drills, we are now joined in the studio by Su Xiaohui, Deputy Director of the Department of International and Strategic Studies at the China Institute of International Studies.

Q1:  This is the first time China and Russia are conducting their joint drill in the South China Sea. Analysts interpret the move as an increase in strategic and military trust between the two countries. Do you agree?

Q2:  In the meantime, the US announced its biennial military exercise in the west Pacific. It coincides with the Sino-Russia drill. How do you read into the timing AND the choice of location by the US navy?