Chinse and Russian navies introduced and tested a host of new operations during the eight-day  “Joint Sea 2016” drill, a test for genuine combat operations.

Both navies were keen to test their new tasks and methods in an intense environment. They separated their personnel into two groups.

“Both the red and blue forces planned and fought against each other in a real combat format, which improved the real combat capacity of the troops,” said Chinese commander Yu Manjiang.

The new tasks included anti-submarine operations and gaining control of islands and reefs from both the air and sea. For two navies with different backgrounds, a state-of-the-art commanding system was required.

“The commanding information system was applied in the joint drill for the first time. It solves the language barriers between foreign forces and our troops, breaking through the information bottleneck,” Yu said.

To achieve their goals, both navies sent the cream of their naval forces, along with eight ships and two submarines from China and five ships from Russia.

“Our navies can not only protect our territories, but safeguard world peace. And we have had close collaboration during the drill,” said Alexander Fedotenkov, Deputy Commander of the Russian Navy.

Both navies emphasized that the joint drills will take place regularly, but they are not aimed at any specific third-party or region.