Military exchanges are taking a turn toward more frequent soldier-to-soldier communications in the ongoing China-Russia naval exercises, Chinese Senior Colonel Shi Zhigang said on Tuesday.

"In the past, China-Russia joint exercises gave much more attention to the communications between commanders of the two sides, but this time there are more programs involving the exchanges between soldiers," said Shi while training troops from both sides on day two of the eight-day China-Russia Joint Sea-2016 drill.

The drill is being held in the eastern waters off Zhanjiang, Guangdong's southernmost city, where the Chinese Navy's Nanhai Fleet is head-quartered.