China has surpassed Russia as a maritime power, boosted by years of joint drills between the two navies, according to military analysts.

Such exercises had helped China to become a relatively advanced naval power, and Russia was watching on warily as Beijing continued a push to modernise its military, they said.

“It’s true that China has overtaken Russia, especially when one considers Beijing having put in so much effort in developing a holistic, comprehensive array of maritime power, which goes beyond equipment to include the broader marine economy, ports and shipping, shipbuilding and so on,” said Collin Koh, a military expert from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.