At the same time as the French-Japanese drills, Russia and China conducted their own large-scale exercises. According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, the joint Ocean-2024 manoeuvres involved more than 400 warships and over 90,000 personnel.

Chinese state media said the drills, named Northern/Interaction-2024, aim to deepen strategic cooperation between the two countries and strengthen their ability to respond to security threats.

As Russia’s military last week launched globe-spanning drills widely seen as a show of strength directed at the United States, President Vladimir Putin made clear which country he sees as standing by Moscow’s side.