China and Pakistan will conduct the "Sea Guardians-2" joint naval exercise off Shanghai in mid-July, People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy spokesperson Liu Wensheng announced on Sunday.

The exercise is aimed at "jointly confronting naval security challenges" and seeks to enhance defense cooperation between China and Pakistan, while also promoting an all-weather strategic partnership, Liu said, adding that the drills were scheduled according to an existing annual plan and do not target any specific third parties.