Video shows China-Russia-Iran Security Belt-2025 joint maritime drills

In a demonstration of strengthening military cooperation, the naval forces of China, Russia, and Iran commenced the Security Belt-2025 joint maritime exercises on March 11, 2025, in the Gulf of Oman near Iran's southeastern port city of Chabahar. 

These exercises aim to enhance regional security and deepen multilateral collaboration among the participating nations. The drills encompass various operations, including maritime target strikes, visit, board, search, and seizure procedures, damage control, and joint search and rescue missions.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has deployed a destroyer and a replenishment ship for the exercises, reflecting China's commitment to bolstering practical cooperation and mutual trust with Russia and Iran.

Iranian media reports indicate that the drills involve warships and support vessels from the naval forces of Iran's army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), alongside Russian and Chinese navies. The exercises are set in the northern Indian Ocean, focusing on enhancing regional security and expanding multilateral cooperation.

Notably, observers from several countries, including South Africa, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka, are attending the exercises, underscoring the international interest in these maneuvers.

This marks the fifth iteration of joint naval exercises among China, Iran, and Russia since 2019, highlighting the growing defense ties among these nations. The continuation of such drills signifies their collective effort to counterbalance Western influence and promote a multipolar global order.

The Security Belt-2025 exercises are expected to continue over the coming days, with participating forces engaging in a series of coordinated maritime operations designed to enhance interoperability and collective maritime security capabilities.

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The People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It is composed of five sub-branches: the Surface Force, the Submarine Force, the Coastal Defense Force, the Marine Corps and the Naval Air Force, with a total strength of 384,000 personnel, including 100,000 marines and 50,000 naval aviation personnel. The PLAN's combat units are deployed among three theater command fleets, namely the North Sea, East Sea and South Sea Fleet, which serve the Northern, Eastern and Southern Theater Command, respectively.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy or Iranian Navy, officially abbreviated NEDAJA, is the naval warfare service branch of Iran's regular military, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh). It is one of Iran's two maritime military branches, alongside the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). NEDAJA is charged with forming Iran's first line of defense in the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf and abroad. It is generally considered to be a conventional green-water navy, as it mostly operates regionally, namely in the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and northwest quarter of the Indian Ocean. The Navy aims to develop blue-water capabilities: in July 2016, it announced plans to establish a presence in the Atlantic Ocean, and as of May 2021 has sent ships into the region.

The Russian Navy is the naval arm of the Russian Armed Forces. It has existed in various forms since 1696. Its present iteration was formed in January 1992 when it succeeded the Navy of the Commonwealth of Independent States (which had itself succeeded the Soviet Navy following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late December 1991).