Russia, Iran, and China will hold joint naval drills, the press office of Russia’s Pacific Fleet said on Tuesday.

The Russian embassy in Tehran said that the three countries will conduct drills in the Persian Gulf in early 2022. Several ships of the Pacific Fleet have anchored at Iran’s Chabahar Port.

"In the port, the official delegation of the Russian Navy will take part in a panned conference to hold a joint naval exercise of warships of Russia, Iran, and China," the fleet said.

Earlier, on October 19, 2021, the Japanese government announced that 10 naval ships sailed through the strait that separates Japan's mainland from its northern island, Hokkaido. The vessels reportedly belonged to Russia and China, which were closely monitored by Tokyo. 

Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshihiko Isozaki, said in a news conference that "the government is closely watching Chinese and Russian naval vessels’ activities around Japan like this one with high interest." 

While the Japanese Defense Ministry declared that no international laws were violated in the process, the Sea of Japan saw military drills and exercises by Russia and China between October 14 to 17. 

Russia, China conduct the first joint naval patrol in the Pacific Ocean

The first Russian and Chinese joint patrol in the western Pacific Ocean was held between 17 and 23 October, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense on Saturday.

"The warships of the Russian Navy and the Chinese naval forces conducted the first patrol in the western Pacific Ocean from October 17-23," the Ministry said in a statement.

As part of the patrol, the vessels traversed the Sea of Japan and performed coordinated tactical maneuvering. 

"The tasks of the patrols were the demonstration of the Russian and Chinese state flags, maintaining of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and guardianship of the subjects of maritime economic activities of the two countries," the Ministry added.