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China-Russia-Mongolia joint border defense exercise deepens cooperation

China

China

China

China-Russia-Mongolia joint border defense exercise deepens cooperation

2026-09-15 01:56 Last Updated At:09:57

The recent joint exercise conducted by border defense forces from China, Russia and Mongolia consolidated the three countries' trilateral friendship and pragmatic cooperation, Defense Ministry spokesman Jiang Bin said at a press conference in Beijing on Monday.

The two-day exercise, code-named "Border Defense Cooperation 2026," was conducted from September 2 to 3. It was aimed to strengthen regional border security coordination.

"The Border Defense Cooperation 2026 joint exercise was recently conducted in the tri-border area near Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Centered on preventing and cracking down on reconnaissance and sabotage activities in border areas, this joint exercise involved the three parties conducting live-force exercises, including joint planning, joint search operations, joint strikes and apprehensions, and joint handover procedures. Adopting a range of modern, unmanned and intelligent border management technologies, the three sides jointly consolidated border security defenses. Following the drills, military exchanges were carried out focusing on equestrian skills, obstacle crossing, as well as military dog training like detection, identification, tracking and apprehension. This is the second joint border defense exercise for Chinese, Russian and Mongolian border defense forces. The exercise signifies that trilateral border cooperation has evolved from initial exploration to in-depth integration. It will further enhance the three countries' capacity to respond to emergencies, safeguard peace and stability in border regions, and continuously deepen and expand traditional friendship and pragmatic cooperation among the three nations," said Jiang.

China-Russia-Mongolia joint border defense exercise deepens cooperation

China-Russia-Mongolia joint border defense exercise deepens cooperation

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on Monday that a super oil tanker, which was trying to cross the Strait of Hormuz via the "forbidden" route to the south of the strait, exploded after hitting naval mines.

Warnings about the dangers of this route had been issued previously, according to the statement published on the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News.

In the statement, the IRGC Navy said that the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked and remains under Iran's "smart control".

Following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran restricted passage through the strategic waterway, while U.S. forces imposed a naval blockade targeting vessels traveling to or from Iranian ports.

Ship-tracking data showed that the daily number of vessels transiting through the strait dropped to single digits over the weekend, falling below the recent 10-day average of 14 vessels per day.

Four vessels, including a gas carrier, exited the strait over the weekend, while 10 cargo ships entered the waterway.

However, these figures do not include vessels that pass through the strait with their Automatic Identification System (AIS) switched off.

The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20 percent of the world's seaborne oil flows and significant shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and fertilizers.

Before the U.S.-Israeli strikes, around 125 large commercial vessels would pass through the strait every day, including oil tankers, gas carriers, bulk carriers, and container ships.

Iran says oil tanker explodes after hitting naval mines in Hormuz Strait

Iran says oil tanker explodes after hitting naval mines in Hormuz Strait

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