Tel Aviv: The navies of Iran, China and Russia performed a joint drill in close vicinity to the operational area of the US Fifth Fleet. This cooperation, according to Israeli source should turn on some “Red” warning lights in Washington.
According to a report in the website of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), on May 20, 2023, Channel 2 (Iran) aired a report about the “Maritime Security Belt 2023” joint Iran-China-Russia maritime exercise, which took place near the United States’ Fifth Fleet and in the area of CENTCOM’s activity.
The Iranian report said that the West is trying to “weaken the Islamic countries and their allies” and Iran, Russia, and China have common goals. They are “taking steps to expand their defensive perimeters, neutralize threats, and increase and create military capabilities.”
Captain Oleg Gladky, the Commander of Russia’s Northern Fleet Missile Ship Division, said that the purpose of the drill is to provide security for the region. Captain Qiu Maoxuan, the Commander of China’s Nanning destroyer, said that the drill was very ‘important’ and that he hopes this drill will lead to future ‘improvements’.
“In today’s world of American centrality, the West is trying to restrict the countries that do not submit to its economic and political power, and to weaken the Islamic countries and their allies, by forming military alliances in east Asia, and by creating crises in the Middle East, in order to weaken the Islamic countries and their allies.”
The MEMRI report cites the Iranian TV report that said the navies of three countries in the past few years have “conducted joint military exercises and joint defensive drills in the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean.”
”These drills are very important in order to detect threats and exchange knowledge and experience among countries, especially since all three countries belong to the defensive and economic Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”
According to Israeli defence sources such a joint drill should cause ‘grave concern’ in the US as the three involved countries have ‘plans’ to create a much greater military presence in the Gulf area and Indian Ocean.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
