China, Russia to conduct joint military drills in East Sea

China and Russia will launch joint military drills next month in the East Sea, the water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, China's defense ministry said Friday.

The joint drills, set for Aug. 20-28, come as China and Russia have deepened their cooperation in the military and security fields.

The planned military exercises are "to further enhance their capabilities of jointly coping with maritime security threats," Chinese defense ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said in a statement posted on its website on late Thursday.

The drills will be held "in the Peter the Great Gulf and the areas off the coast of the Clerk Cape, as well as in the airspace and waters of the Sea of Japan," Yang said, using the Japanese reference of the East Sea.

The Peter the Great Gulf is the biggest gulf of the East Sea and is close to the borders of North Korea, China and Russia.

About seven Chinese warships and aircraft will join the nine-day drills, Yang said.