ST. PETERSBURG. July 1 (Interfax-AVN) - Russia and China will hold a joint naval exercise in the Sea of Japan at the end of this summer, Chinese Defense Minister Col. Gen. Chang Wanquan has said.
"At the beginning of August, a Chinese team will take part in the Army Games to be held in Russia. At the end of August, the parties will conduct a joint naval exercise in the Sea of Japan," the Chinese defense minister said at a bilateral meeting with the Russian Defense Minister, Army Gen. Sergei Shoigu, in St. Petersburg on Tuesday.
The Chinese military chief said he will be glad to meet with his Russian counterpart in China. "I am pleased and glad that we will still have an opportunity to meet this year in China," Chang said.
This is already a sixth meeting of the Russian and Chinese defense ministers in the past two years, he said.
Even at multilateral events, the Russian and Chinese defense ministers always find an opportunity to meet bilaterally despite their tight business schedules, he said.
"I think it reflects not just the high level of the relationship between our states and their Armed Forces, but it also speaks volumes about our close working relationship and personal feelings," Chang said.
He also recalled his first meeting with Shoigu in Moscow in March 2013. "I told you back then that although this was our first meeting, it seemed to me that we had been big friends for a long time," the Chinese defense minister said.
He particularly stressed the agreements reached during his meetings with Shoigu "are being implemented by our ministries in good faith."
The Chinese defense minister said that in May 2015 Russian and Chinese naval forces "conducted a successful joint naval exercise in the Mediterranean Sea. And in June a Chinese military delegation attended the Army 2015 international defense industry forum."