China and Russia will hold joint naval and air exercises called Joint Sea‑2026 in July near Qingdao. The drills are scheduled to run from early July, beginning on Monday, July 6, and will continue through July 13. The exercises will be conducted off Qingdao, in the waters and airspace near the city, in the Yellow Sea.

The drills are an annual event. Russian Pacific Fleet warships arrived in the Chinese port of Qingdao ahead of the drills. After the exercises, forces from both sides will conduct a joint maritime patrol in the Pacific Ocean.

Rear Admiral Sergey Sinko said the drills are defensive in nature and are not directed against any third country, according to TASS. GDelt reported that the drills are part of an annual cooperation plan aimed at jointly addressing security challenges and maintaining regional peace and stability. Al Arabiya noted that China and Russia share close economic and diplomatic ties, strengthened by shared opposition to a global order dominated by Washington, and that the Chinese and Russian militaries have held regular joint exercises in recent years.