Chinese andRussian fleets fire main guns during a China-Russia naval joint drill at sea off south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 18, 2016. Chinese and Russian fleets conducted weapon use on a sea area east of Zhanjiang in south China's Guangdong Province during the "Joint Sea 2016" drill on Sunday. (Xinhua/Zha Chunming)
ST.PETERSBURG, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese andRussian navies completed exercises in the first stage of the ongoing joint military drills code-named "Joint Sea 2017" on Thursday.
The missile destroyer "Hefei" and missile frigate "Yuncheng" of the Chinese fleet docked at the Lieutenant Schmidt Quai in the Russian city of St.Petersburg in the afternoon local time, following an intensive two-day naval drill in the Baltic Sea.
During the drill, two tactical assault groups, consisting of mixed warships from the Chinese and Russian fleets, conducted a string of joint exercises, including ship-to-sea firing by secondary guns, air defense, landing and inspection, maritime search and rescue, dry cargo replenishment and shipwreck relief.
On Wednesday,the participating fleets from the two countries held a farewell ceremony in the southeastern waters of the Baltic Sea before parting ways and continuing their respective voyages.
Navies from both countries are scheduled to attend a parade here in celebration of Russia's Navy Day on Sunday.
The Joint Sea 2017 drills, held from July 21 to 28, focus on carrying out joint rescue missions and ensuring maritime economic activities, during which the two navies are expected to strengthen the ability to cope with maritime threats and coordinate joint actions, as well as promote their friendship and mutual trust.