Cold War: What Are the Messages Behind the Joint Naval Drill Between Iran, Russia and China?

Amid ongoing tensions in the international maritime corridors of the Red Sea, Russia, Iran, and China conducted military drills lasting for three days in the northern Indian Ocean, dubbed "Maritime Security Belt 2024."

These drills, involving the three countries forming the anti-Western axis, took place from March 12 to 14, 2024. 

Also, delegates from five other countries closely situated to the military training area participated as observers. These drills were described by U.S. media outlets as a "challenge" to the West.

'Strengthening Security'

On March 14, Iranian, Chinese, and Russian units concluded the "Maritime Security Belt 2024" drills in the northern Indian Ocean, involving naval and aerial units from these countries, as reported by Tasnim News Agency.

According to a report from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated agency on March 14, the purpose of these drills was to consolidate security and its bases in the region and expand multilateral cooperation among the three countries, with observers from Oman, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and South Africa.

Further, the objectives of these drills include enhancing international maritime trade security, combating maritime piracy and terrorism, humanitarian actions, exchanging information on maritime rescue operations, and sharing operational and tactical expertise, according to the agency.

Similarly, Iranian spokesperson Admiral Mostafa Tajeddini stated that the fourth edition of these drills aims to ensure security in the region and expand cooperation with allies, emphasizing their goal to enhance international trade, combat piracy and maritime terrorism, and exchange rescue-related information.

Regarding the participation of "friendly countries" such as Pakistan, Oman, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and South Africa as observers, Tajeddini clarified that the drills include joint cooperation in ship rescue operations, combating piracy, firing at specified targets, and conducting night shooting on aerial targets.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced in a statement on March 12 that a group of its warships had arrived in Iran to participate in joint drills with Beijing and Tehran in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The ministry stated that the joint drills will involve warships and aircraft" and emphasized that "the practical part of the exercises will take place in the waters of the Gulf of Oman in the Arabian Sea, with the main purpose being to ensure the safety of maritime economic activities.

The ministry also indicated that the Russian group is led by the missile cruiser Varyag from its Pacific Fleet and noted that representatives from the navies of Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Oman, India, and South Africa would be present as observers.

Similarly, the Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China stated on March 12 that the exercises aim to jointly maintain regional maritime security, noting that they will send two missile-equipped ships and a supply ship to participate in the drills.

'Cold War'

Regarding the messages conveyed by these drills, Mustafa al-Nuaimi, a researcher at the Arab Forum for Analyzing of Iranian Policies – AFAIP, commented, stating: "We are witnessing an escalation and a direct challenge to the United States due to the sensitivity of the positioning of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the waters of the Arabian Gulf."

Al-Nuaimi posted on X on March 13, saying, "The axis of evil represented by Russia, China, and Iran seems determined to rival the United States near its naval positioning in the Fifth Fleet.

"What is happening leads us to an important question in this stage of constant escalation in the Middle East: Will the axis of evil's persistence in challenging the United States heat up the scene and contribute to an implicit escalation of this rivalry?"

Al-Nuaimi also wondered, "Will we witness direct American responses to these drills, which have become one of the most important tools of the cold war between naval alliances, or are we going to witness the decline of the American pole at the expense of the rise of its eastern counterpart, or are we facing a stage of American containment of the growing attempt of a multipolar world and its gradual dismantling?"

Mojtaba Ferdowsipur, director of the Research Department for West Asia and Africa Affairs at the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, believes that "the area of the drills was carefully chosen to lie between the strategic checkpoints of the Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab, and Malacca Straits, thus increasing the importance of the security belt formed by the northern Indian Ocean to ensure the passage of commercial ships, especially the flow of global energy."

The former Iranian ambassador to Jordan stated in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net on March 13 that "the significance of the ongoing maneuvers stems from their coincidence with the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza and its implications for the arrogance of the American-British alliance in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and regional waters."

Mojtaba Ferdowsipur pointed out that "the tripartite drills send a message to concerned parties that the Eastern parties participating are determined to ensure the security of the strategic straits in the region without the involvement of Western countries."

He observed that "these drills reaffirm the policy of the participating countries in rejecting any geopolitical and geostrategic changes in the Indian Ocean, especially in the maritime areas to its north and west."

He said, "The maritime security belt proves to the countries of the region the superiority of regional security over that imported from Western powers," calling for "expanding joint military cooperation and participation of countries bordering high seas and the Indian Ocean in the rising Eastern alliance and cooperating with it to ensure regional maritime security and economic activity safety there."

Mojtaba Ferdowsipur emphasized "the importance of controlling the Indian Ocean and other regional waters for Tehran, Beijing, and Moscow and excluding Western powers.

"The insistence on not canceling the maneuvers and their implementation within their usual geographic and temporal scope demonstrates the determination of the participating countries to confront Western military presence in the region."

He stressed that "the Houthi group challenges Western maritime dominance in the Red Sea in line with the policies of the countries participating in the Belt of Maritime Security Drills 2024, as long as the United States views these countries as a threat to its national security and has done everything possible to impose sanctions and exert pressure on Eastern powers."

Western Concerns

On the other hand, Al-Monitor published a report on March 12 entitled "Iran, Russia, China conduct new military drills, defying Western pressure," noting that Iran has presented its best-known maritime capabilities publicly.

The report pointed out that the current drills are the latest in a series that saw the three parties meet in almost the same maritime area in the years 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

It confirmed that the exercise comes amidst escalating regional tensions resulting from the Israeli war on Gaza, with its ripple effects already affecting international traffic in the Red Sea.

According to Al-Monitor, the Houthis in Yemen, closely linked to the Iranian establishment, have often targeted international ships in strategic waters as part of their policy of revenge against "Israel."

In response, U.S. and British forces have targeted Houthi infrastructure in Yemen to cripple the Shia group's capabilities and thwart its attacks. Tehran has called for an end to supplying rebels with advanced weapons, a charge it denies, according to the site.

Meanwhile, it is observed that Iran's growing partnership with China and Russia has raised growing concerns among Western officials.

Partnering with Moscow means Iran's increasing involvement in the Ukraine war through the repeated delivery of unmanned combat aerial vehicles to Moscow.

However, the Al-Khanadeq website, affiliated with the Lebanese Hezbollah party and specializing in geopolitical, military, and security issues in the West Asia region, sees that although these maneuvers are not taking place for the first time, they began in 2019, in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, and the Sea of Oman, they send a clear message to America.

The site explained that the timing of the maneuvers, coinciding with Operation al-Aqsa Flood, and its repercussions on the maritime arena, especially through the Yemeni front in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, all the way to the furthest point of the Indian Ocean at Cape Hope, carries a message to America that it is no longer the dominant state over the seas.

It pointed out that it metaphorically suggests that the seas have reclaimed a measure of independence from the unrelenting influence of American and Western dominance, which has persisted for years.

According to the website affiliated with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, it is noteworthy that the area of the maneuvers resembles a triangle of the Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab, and Malacca Straits, which means that these countries are capable of dealing with any threat that may affect the passage of commercial ships and the flow of global energy in this area and that they can secure the strategic straits without any participation from Western countries.

On the other hand, these maneuvers prove to the countries of the region (especially the Gulf) that regional security is a much better option than any maritime alliances involving Western countries led by America, according to the website.

The Russian military presence in this region poses a challenge to Western maritime dominance and surpasses American red lines. Therefore, this series of maritime maneuvers may only be the beginning of a long-term strategic policy aimed at confronting Western and American maritime presence in the region, the same source said.

In March 2023, the last joint maritime military maneuvers of this kind took place between Russia, Iran, and China in the Gulf of Oman, with the aim of deepening actual cooperation between the naval forces of the participating countries.

Both Moscow and Beijing consider themselves geopolitical powers in opposition to the United States and its allies, while Iran is accused of sending weapons and ammunition to Russia for use in its attack on Ukraine since February 21, 2022, especially drones, which the latter has admitted supplying, but before the outbreak of war between the two countries.