BEIJING, Jul. 17 (Reuters) - China and Russia have begun live-fire naval exercises in the South China Sea, state-controlled Global Times newspaper reported, with the two countries having strengthened military and trade ties in recent years following U.S. sanctions on both.

Both countries will deploy at least three vessels each for the three-day exercises, the report said, citing the People's Liberation Army Navy. The drills follow the completion of a separate joint naval patrol in the north Pacific, other state media said.

The exercise will see the warship formation practice live-fire training, reconnaissance and early warning, search and rescue, and air defence, the report late on Tuesday evening said, according to the PLA South Sea Fleet.

Wang Guangzheng of the PLA Navy's Southern Theatre told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV that: "the China-Russia joint patrol has promoted the deepening and practical cooperation between the two in multiple directions and fields."

"And effectively enhanced the ability to the two sides to jointly respond to maritime security threats."

The participating vessels set off from a naval port in Zhanjiang in southern China's Guangdong province on Monday, the report added, citing a PLA Navy statement.

The report did not specify where in the contested waterway the drills would take place.

China claims control over almost the entire South China Sea, including the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a rusty warship that it deliberately grounded in 1999 to reinforce its maritime claims and which has been central to a recent standoff between the two countries.

The rising tensions have led U.S. officials to remind Beijing that their mutual defence treat obligations with the Philippines are ironclad.

China and Russia declared a "no limits" partnership in 2022 when President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing just days before he sent thousands of troops into Ukraine. China has still not condemned the invasion and has stepped up its exports to Russia, helping Moscow keep its war economy afloat.

The "no limits" partnership saw two-way trade hit a record of $240.1 billion in 2023, up 26.3% from a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data.

Meanwhile, China-U.S. trade fell 11.6% last year to $664.5 billion, Chinese customs data shows.

Photo from Reuters