Hong Kong CNN\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Russia\u2019s military<\/a> last week launched globe-spanning drills widely seen as a show of strength directed at the United States, President Vladimir Putin made clear which country he sees as standing by Moscow\u2019s side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an opening video address, Putin said 15 \u201cfriendly\u201d nations would observe what Moscow claimed were some 90,000 troops and more than 500 ships and aircraft mobilized for the largest such exercises in 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But only China<\/a> would take part alongside Russia, according to Putin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are paying special attention to strengthening cooperation with our friendly countries. This is especially important today amid rising geopolitical tension around the world,\u201d the Russian leader said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dubbed \u201cOcean-2024,\u201d the seven days of drills that ended Monday are the latest in a recent slew of military exercises and joint patrols between Russia and China that come on the heels of vows<\/a> from Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to tighten military cooperation, even as the Kremlin wages its war against Ukraine<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n China sent several warships and 15 aircraft to waters off Russia\u2019s Far East coast for Ocean-2024, according to the Russian military. In addition, Chinese and Russian forces this month touted<\/a> deepened strategic coordination during joint naval drills in waters near Japan and held their fifth joint maritime patrol in the northern Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows a raft of joint exercises over the summer, including near Alaska \u2013 where US and Canadian forces intercepted Russian and Chinese bombers<\/a> together for the first time \u2013 and in the South China Sea, a vital waterway claimed almost entirely by Beijing in which geopolitical tensions are rapidly rising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That coordination has been watched with increasing concern in Washington, which has for months accused China of bolstering Russia\u2019s defense sector with dual-use exports like machine tools and microelectronics, a charge Beijing denies as it claims neutrality in the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also comes as the war in Ukraine grinds on and threats escalate, with Putin warning NATO leaders<\/a> that lifting restrictions on Kyiv\u2019s use of longer-range Western missiles to strike deep inside Russia would be considered an act of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest Russia-China military drills fit a pattern of more than a decade of enhanced military coordination<\/a> between the two countries, experts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n