Agencies

letters@hindustantimes.com

Tehran : Iran, China and Russia started four days of joint naval drills in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman on Friday, the commander of Iran’s flotilla announced.

The exercise comes at a time of heightened tensions since the US withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in May last year.

“The message of this exercise is peace, friendship and lasting security through cooperation and unity… and its effect will be to show that Iran cannot be isolated,” Gholamreza Tahani said on state television.

Tahani added that the drills included rescuing ships on fire or vessels under attack by pirates and shooting exercises, with both Iran’s navy and its Revolutionary Guards participating.

State television showed what it said was a Russian warship arriving at Chabahar port in southern Iran and said the Chinese will join shortly, calling the three countries “the new triangle of power in the sea”.

Japan to send patrol planes, warship

Tokyo : Japan will send a military vessel and two patrol planes to help protect waterways in West Asia but will not join a US-led coalition in the region, the government said on Friday.