Russia, China’s Annual Joint Pacific Patrol Underway
Dzirhan Mahadzir
August 15, 2025 2:18 PM
An annual joint patrol by the Russian Navy and People’s Liberation Army Navy is well underway, with the countries’ warships sailing together through the La Perouse Strait and to the Sea of Okhotsk in recent days.
Russian Navy destroyer RFS Admiral Tributs (564) and PLAN destroyer CNS Shaoxing (134) and fleet oiler CNS Qiandaohu (886) departed on Thursday from the port city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the Kamchatka Peninsula, concluding a port visit there and continuing their patrol of the Pacific Ocean. The three ships had pulled into Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on Tuesday for rest and replenishment following the annual patrol’s Aug. 6 commencement in the Sea of Japan.
From the Sea of Japan, Admiral Tributs, Shaoxing and Qiandaohu sailed to La Perouse Strait, which separates Japan’s main island of Hokkaido and Russia’s Sakhalin Island. The three ships were sighted around 8 a.m., Aug. 7, sailing northeast in an area 198 miles northwest of Okushiri Island, according to Japan’s Joint Staff Office (JSO). The following day, the warships sailed east through La Perouse Strait to enter the Sea of Okhotsk.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer JS Murasame (DD-101) and a JMSDF P-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) shadowed the Russian and Chinese ships, the JSO said.
Upon leaving Avacha Bay, the Russian-Navy patrol conducted exercises in anti-drone defense and other defensive measure exercises while in the Pacific Ocean, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. This included practicing maneuvering techniques and reforming into different formations.
https://news.usni.org/2025/08/15/russia-chinas-annual-joint-pacific-patrol-underway
