Soldiers are seen on a naval vessel during a joint naval exercise on the sea off Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, on April 26, 2019. China conducted a joint naval exercise with Southeast Asian countries in Qingdao, with focus on jointly handling pirate threats and maritime emergency rescues.(Photo: Xinhua)

 China will send warships to Pakistan in January in a scheduled joint naval exercise with Pakistan, a move that will deepen the two countries' military cooperation and enhance their all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, China's Ministry of National Defense has announced.

The joint military drills are part of the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Pakistani military forces, said Ren Guoqiang, a defense ministry spokesperson, at a routine press conference on Thursday.

A Chinese fleet including a destroyer, frigate, supplement ship and submarine rescue ship will be deployed for the drills, Ren said.

Ren's remarks came after Indian media reports said recently that China and Pakistan would conduct a joint maritime exercise "at India's doorstep."

"The exercise is not related to regional affairs and is not aimed at any third party," Ren said at the press conference.