China, Russia, Iran to hold joint naval exercise

China, Russia and Iran will hold a joint naval exercise from December 27 to 30 in the Gulf of Oman, a Chinese military spokesperson said on Thursday.

The Chinese navy will send the Xining, a guided-missile destroyer, to the joint exercise, Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defence, said at a press conference, Xinhua reported.

The exercise is aimed at deepening exchanges and cooperation among the navies of the three countries, and demonstrating the goodwill and capability of the three sides to jointly safeguard world peace and maritime security and actively build a maritime community with a shared future, according to Wu.

"The joint exercise is a normal military exchange arrangement of the three countries. It is in line with related international laws and practices, and has no connection with regional situation," Wu said.

Wu also announced that a joint military training between China and Tanzania will be held in Dar es Salaam from late December to mid-January 2020.

Codenamed "Sincere Partner 2019," the joint training aims to further improve the practical cooperation between Chinese and Tanzanian militaries so as to build a new type of security partnership featuring equality, mutual trust and win-win cooperation, Wu said.IANS