According to Russia's President Vladimir Putin, the Russian-Chinese joint naval exercise called Northern/Interaction-2024 or Ocean 24 was the largest of their kind in three decades. In three decades - that would mean since the end of the Cold War in Europe.

A Russian Navy ship from the Baltic Fleet. Source: VNA

The data and facts made sense: It involved more than 400 warships, submarines, and support vessels, over 120 planes and helicopters,s and more than 90000 troops. It spanned the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Mediterranean, Caspian, and Baltic Seas. Never before had Russia and China conducted joint maritime drills as large as that and in so many oceans and seas in the world simultaneously.

Vladimir Putin didn't hesitate to speak out about why Russia and China intended to conduct this joint naval exercise. He said Russia and China need to work together to deal with a new security environment because "under the pretext of countering the allegedly existing Russian threat and containing the People's Republic of China, the United States, and its satellites are increasing their military presence near Russia's western borders, in the Arctic and the Asia-Pacific region."

With this drill, Russia and China wanted to send strong and clear messages to the outside world, especially to the West. They demonstrated not only their at present very strong and close bond. They acted like allies without any alliance. Enact with Russia, China's navy and military would get easy access to many other regions in the world far away from China thus helping to enhance China's roles and influences in world politics. China is peering into the Arctic while Russia is in the Indo-Pacific. The one is helping the other like the right hand helps the left one.

They used this drill to show their military strength and powers, combat capacities, and readiness in any situation and region in the world. And that despite Russia's deep involvement in the Ukraine war and being heavily sanctioned by the West. And that despite China has been facing tough strategic competition and economic and trade attacks by the West.

Their aims were and are not to seek or provoke military confrontations or conflicts with the West. But their message was that they were united in defending their basic and strategic interests against any challenge from the West and they were always capable of achieving their goals. They showed their unbridgeable and unreconcilable differences to the West both ideologically and politically. Their unhidden ambitions are to act globally and to act together globally.

It was a military joint exercise. But its military impact was modest. There was the weight of its psychological messages which was really of the biggest significance.