A Chinese fleet and a British fleet left Qingdao port for a
maritime exercise Sunday off the coast of Qingdao, a port city in
east China's Shandong Province.
Guided missile destroyer Harbin, fuel tanker Hongze Lake of the
North Sea Fleet of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will
join in the exercise with guided missile destroyer Exeter of
British Royal Navy.
The first Sino-British maritime exercise in the nontraditional
security field will be directed by Zhang Panhong, chief of the
general staff of the North Sea Fleet of PLAN and David Snelson,
chief-of-staff warfare to commander-in-chief of the fleet of
British Royal Navy. Fifteen navy attaches to China from 15
countries invited for the first time by China will observe the
whole exercise aboard destroyer Harbin.
The exercise is divided to three stages: Communication exercise;
fleet order changing; and search-and-rescue, including light
flashing, flag voices and helicopter tactic maneuvers.
Qian Lihua, deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Office of
Chinese Ministry of National Defense, said this year is the
fiftieth anniversary of establishment of the Sino-British
diplomatic ties.
Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Britain this year and the
establishment of an all-round Sino-British strategic partnership
has upgraded the Sino-British relations to a new level, he
said.
He expressed his belief that the joint maritime exercise is
bound to enhance mutual understanding and mutual trust between the
two armed forces.
(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2004)