U.S. monitors Russia-China joint naval drills, sees no threat

On September 10, during a briefing, Kirby noted that while cooperation between the two countries has grown, historically, they haven't fully trusted one another, either regionally or globally.

“We're keeping an eye on it, just like we do with other drills, but Russia and China don’t have a long history of working closely together, particularly in a military sense. There’s always been a level of mistrust between them, both in their region and on the global stage,” Kirby said.

He further noted that the drills had been planned for some time and aren’t a major concern for the U.S.

"I don’t see any need to adjust our military or deterrence posture because of these drills. They've been on the schedule for a while as part of their routine. So, we'll watch and monitor, but there’s no immediate cause for concern," Kirby added.

• Russia and China will hold joint military drills in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, involving both their air and naval forces. The Chinese Ministry of Defense made this announcement on September 9.