MOSCOW. March 15 (Interfax) - A trilateral naval exercise involving Russia, China and Iran has kicked off in the Arabian Sea, with an artillery fire drill planned, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"Today, in the waters of the Arabian Sea near the Chabahar Port of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Marine Security Belt 2023 trilateral naval exercise kicked off with the participation of the Russian Navy, the Navy of the People's Liberation Army of China and the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran," the statement said.
According to the Russian military, during the first stage of the exercise, the naval sailors of the three countries will practice episodes of the exercise involving practical actions at sea and hold training sessions.
"From March 16 to 17, the maritime stage of the exercise will be held, during which its participants will practice the formation of an international squad of warships, joint maneuvering, perform artillery firing both in the daytime and at night, as well as an episode involving the release of a captured vessel, providing assistance to ships (vessels) in distress at sea and a number of other tasks," the statement said.
Russia is represented at the exercise by a detachment of ships of the Northern Fleet consisting of the Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the Kama medium-sized sea tanker, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
As officially reported earlier, the Admiral Gorshkov is equipped with new Tsirkon hypersonic missiles.