The China-Russia naval drill, starting on Monday, is expected to improve the capacity of dealing with "common security threats," said a senior Chinese navy officer.

Wang Hai, deputy commander of the Chinese navy and also the director of the drill from the Chinese side, made the remarks at a ceremony to welcome the arrival of five Russian ships in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, on Monday morning.

The naval forces of both sides are expected to enhance cooperation, learn from each other, deepen friendship, and push forward the bilateral ties during the eight-day drill, he said.

The drill, "Joint Sea-2016", will feature naval surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, ship-borne helicopters marine corps and amphibious armored equipment from both navies, spokesman Liang Yang said on Sunday.

The naval exercise will be held in the eastern waters of Zhanjiang, the southernmost city of Guangdong province, where the Nanhai Fleet under the People's Liberation Army Navy is headquartered.

Most of the Chinese participants will come from the Nanhai Fleet. The exercise will be commanded by Rear Admiral Yu Manjiang, vice-commander of the Nanhai Fleet.

The Russian anti-submarine ships Admiral Tributs and Admiral Vinogradov, the amphibious ship Peresvet, the towboat Alatau, and the tanker Pechenga will take part in the drill.

The annual China-Russia joint naval exercise is the fifth between the two sides since 2012. It's for the first time that the drill will take place in the South China Sea.