Russia to test missiles in surprise inspection of Pacific fleet

Russia will conduct missile launches and torpedo tests as part of a surprise inspection of its Pacific naval fleet, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.

The drills come amid heightened tension in the Asia-Pacific region, as the United States and South Korea conduct joint air exercises following an intercontinental ballistic missile test by North Korea.

"The main objective of this inspection is to increase the ability of the Armed Forces to repel the aggression of a probable enemy from the direction of ocean and sea," Shoigu said on state television.


Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Russia's naval forces would be put on high alert during the drills and deployed to training areas, where they will conduct combat exercises.

The drills will also simulate an enemy landing on Russia's Sakhalin island and on its southern Kuril Islands, some of which are claimed by Japan in a territorial dispute dating back to the end of World War Two.