MOSCOW, November 30. /TASS/. Iran, Russia and China will hold joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean on December 22, 2019 - January 20, 2020, Iranian navy commander Rear Adm. Hossein Khanzadi said on Saturday.

"The aim of those exercises is to ensure collective security and help boost the security in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, where various incidents, including pirate attacks, are taking place," Iran’s Tasnim news agency quoted the official as saying.

Delegations from the three nations drafted a preliminary plan of the drills in October.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on October 2 that during the upcoming exercises, Russia, China and Iran are intended to train anti-terrorism and anti-piracy efforts. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said those drills should not be viewed as a display of hostility to any other country.