The reason for such a small showing at this year’s Joint Sea exercise is straightforward, says

Maxim Shepovalenko, a former Russian navy captain and expert at the Moscow-based Center for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), said the small Russian showing was because there was "no need for a large-scale exercise" in the Baltic, "merely a symbolic one".

"I can’t imagine the Russian navy ever holding a large-scale naval drill even by itself. And for the Chinese Navy, this is just a way to get a taste for ‘global reach,’” Mr Shepovalenko said.

The exercise will run the course of a week, and will feature anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, and anti-ship drills. The two sides will also practice anti-piracy as well as search and rescue operations. The joint flotilla is under the command of Russian Vice Admiral Alexander Fedotenkov and Chinese Vice-Admiral Tian Zhong.

The drills are being conducted in Russian, according to the Baltic Fleet’s press service.

China has been expanding its military reach by building up its naval forces and establishing its first overseas military base in the tiny east African nation of Djibouti this year.

The manoeuvres in the Baltic Sea are being seen by Chinese experts as a show of force following joint drills by the United States and Beijing's two key Asian rivals - India and Japan – in the Indian Ocean earlier this month.