Recently, the “Joint Sea-2025” exercise held by China and Russia in the Far East has attracted attention from the international community. Of particular interest is the occurrence of two seemingly unrelated events before the exercise, where a major nuclear submarine base in the Russian Far East suffered damage from a tsunami triggered by a strong earthquake. The fact that China dispatched a professional submarine rescue ship for the first time during this exercise has connected these two events, sparking various speculations among the global public.
Prior to the joint China-Russia exercise, the Russian Pacific Fleet faced a severe challenge.
On July 30th, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, the strongest earthquake in the region since 1952. The resulting tsunami waves reached heights of 3 to 4 meters, causing serious impact on the Russian Far East region.
According to reports from the Global Times, despite the earthquake’s epicenter being in a sparsely populated area, the Avacha Bay, located just over 100 kilometers from the epicenter, is the site of the Russian Pacific Fleet’s nuclear submarine base – the Rybachiy base. The base is home to Russia’s most advanced underwater nuclear strike capabilities, hosting submarines of the “Russo-Kuznetsov” and “Russo-Kuznetsov A” classes.
Satellite images released on August 1st revealed that the Rybachiy nuclear submarine base, located approximately 120 kilometers from the epicenter, suffered damage from the tsunami. The base is a key hub for Russia’s Pacific Fleet submarines.
Clear satellite images captured by the US-based Umbra Space company showed a section of the base’s dock structure visibly bent and displaced, indicating possible detachment from its fixed position due to the impact of the waves.
Former Royal Navy commander Tom Sharpe from the UK raised questions, suggesting that if the force of the waves was sufficient to distort the dock structure, it could potentially cause other damages to submarines, especially those undergoing repairs and unable to navigate.
While the Russian nuclear submarine base suffered damage from the earthquake and tsunami, almost simultaneously, China for the first time dispatched a professional submarine rescue ship to the Russian Far East region for joint exercises.
The following day, China and Russia held the joint military exercise. According to Xinhua News Agency, the “Joint Sea-2025” exercise between China and Russia took place from August 1st to 5th in the Russian Far East region. On August 3rd, the participating vessels from both sides set sail from a military port in Vladivostok, Russia, heading to the designated sea area to conduct a 3-day exercise covering submarine rescue and anti-submarine operations.
The report mentioned that China’s participating forces included the missile destroyer Shaoxing, the Urumqi, the comprehensive supply ship Qianshanhu, and the debut of the comprehensive rescue ship “West Lake.” Russia, on the other hand, deployed the large anti-submarine ship “Admiral Tributs,” the light escort ship “Neustrashimy,” and the rescue ship “Belyayev.”
Interfax, the Russian international news agency, reported that diesel-electric submarines from both Russia and China, along with a Chinese submarine rescue ship, also took part in the military exercise, drawing the attention of military analysts.
Phoenix News quoted military expert Wei Dongxu’s analysis, highlighting a new feature of this year’s exercise – the appearance of the newly designed “West Lake” comprehensive rescue ship in China’s participating forces.
Wei Dongxu explained that the ship was specifically tailored as a high-end platform for handling emergencies on naval vessels and submarines. The “West Lake” is equipped with a large helicopter platform, a submarine rescue chamber docking system, dedicated lifting equipment, and a small manned rescue submarine.
The expert speculated that the rescue operations for submarines during the exercise could be a significant component of the naval training between China and Russia. This indicates a high level of scale and intensity in anti-submarine training between the two countries, incorporating strategies to address submarine combat damages.
The “Joint Sea” series of exercises between China and Russia has been held 10 times since 2012. The inclusion of a professional submarine rescue ship in this exercise, alongside the timing overlapping with the incident of the damaged Russian nuclear submarine base, has led to speculations regarding the potential connection between the two events.
Though there is no official confirmation linking these two events directly, the close timing of their occurrences has led to conjectures from the public. The deployment of China’s submarine rescue ship raises questions on whether it may have been tasked with potential assistance for Russian submarines beyond the scope of the exercise.