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Joint exercises by Chinese and Russian naval troops enter their fifth day, with joint escorting, anti-hijacking, and live-fire drills in the Yellow Sea just west of the Korean Peninsula, state media reported.
Four warships from the Russian navy's Pacific fleet and three supply ships arrived at the Qingdao base in east Shandong province on Saturday, joining 16 Chinese surface ships in the exercise, according to official Xinhua news agency.
The Chinese navy sent vessels including destroyers, frigates, support and hospital ships as well as two submarines, it added.
The exercises focus on joint maritime air defence, anti-submarine tactics, maritime search and rescue and a joint effort to rescue hijacked vessels, Xinhua quoted the Chinese Defence Ministry as saying.
Aircraft and special force units from the two countries were also deployed in an anti-terrorism task as part of the exercise, Xinhua reported.
Code-named Maritime Cooperation-2012, the war games were announced several weeks ago during the height of the rocket launch controversy in North Korea.
Once Cold War foes, ties between Beijing and Moscow have warmed, in part due to China's efforts to tap into Russian energy resources to feed its booming economy.
The two are also players in six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear crisis, reflecting shared security interests.