Putin enlists his destroyers to protect Russian tankers in the East China Sea

Russian destroyer Admiral Panteleyev conducted an exercise in the East China Sea to practice protecting oil tankers from air strikes amid growing tensions with the West over the Ukrainian war, South China Morning Post reported.

Chinese military experts said the exercises are aimed at showing the air defense capability of the Russian naval forces after their cruise ship Moskva sank into the Black Sea.

The maneuvers also come after Russia conducted massive military drills on disputed islands near Japan and amid growing tensions between the two countries following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In an exercise in the East China Sea, the crew of the large anti-submarine ship Admiral Panteleyev of the Russian Pacific Fleet protected a medium-sized tanker from air strikes by imaginary enemies, Russian news agency Sputnik reported Monday, citing an announcement from the Pacific Fleet.

The crew detected and intercepted the enemy's aerial electronic target, according to the report.

Admiral Panteleyev is an Udaloy-class destroyer of the Russian Navy who had left Vladivostok with the tanker to carry out missions in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the report. At the end of March, he trained with a Ka-27ps helicopter in the East China Sea, as previously reported by Sputnik.

The Wall Street Journal claimed that Russian oil tankers had disabled radio signals to avoid detection amid increased scrutiny by the West of Russian oil and gas exports following the invasion of Ukraine.

The Windward ship tracker reported an increase in Russian-affiliated tankers that “go dark”, a change that coincides with the rejection of Russian oil and gas by large maritime operators and oil companies, according to the US media outlet.

“Under Western sanctions, Russia is concerned about the possibility of its tankers and freighters being hijacked. Accompanying warships can protect these tankers by detecting and intercepting the enemy's air target in time,” said Li Jie, a Beijing-based Navy analyst, according to South China Morning Post.

Yue Gang, a former colonel in the Chinese People's Army, said the destroyer's escort exercise was aimed at “showing the United States and its allies that the Russian crude trade is inviolable,” as well as to counter Western sanctions imposed on Russian oil exports, according to South China Morning Post.

By choosing the East China Sea, Russia was also showing its close ties with China, Yue said, adding that Moscow expected the regime to help in the event of an accident and balance the US-Japan alliance.

Admiral Panteleyev has a strong independent combat capability, including anti-submarine and air defense functions, according to Yue.

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