VLADIVOSTOK, August 2 (Itar-Tass) — Chinese Navy squadron of ships on Tuesday completed a visit to the home base of the Russian Pacific Fleet (PF) in Vladivostok and left the city, the Pacific Fleet’s public relations group told Itar-Tass.
There were two ships in the detachment under the flag of Commander of the Northern Fleet of the People’s Liberation Army of China, Vice-Admiral Tian Zhong – the Luoyang frigate and the training ship Zheng He. There are more than 800 Chinese sailors, including more than 100 cadets of the Dalian Naval Academy, on board.
During the four-day visit, the Chinese sailors participated in the celebration of Russian Navy Day. On Sunday, they, along with city residents watched a parade of warships, assault landing and staged scenes of the Pacific Fleet history.
Chinese sailors were also guests of the missile cruiser Varyag which in 2009 took part in an international maritime parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Navy of China. Tours on the ships of the Chinese detachment were organised for residents and guests of the city. Schoolchildren, holidaying at the all-Russian Children’s Centre Okean (Ocean) within the international programme Children of the World were the first to visit the ships.
The training ship Zheng He and the frigate Luoyang arrived to military music and Russian girls in national costumes who presented bread and salt – a symbol of Russia’ s national hospitality, Xinhua reported. The Admiral Vinogradov, a large anti-submarine ship in Russia’s Pacific Fleet hosted the two Chinese ships during their visit. Chinese and Russian sailors participated in a variety of cultural programmes, including bus tours, sporting events and a number of formal and informal bilateral meetings. Some Chinese sailors also visited Russia’s Pacific Fleet Command.
This visit, which fell on the 315th founding anniversary of the Russian Navy, is an important diplomatic move to tighten China-Russia relations and the relationship between the militaries and will surely play a strong role in consolidating bilateral relations, enhancing mutual friendship and promoting common development. The visit aims at spreading the idea of harmonious oceans, promoting stability of the surrounding areas and safeguarding the environment for common development.
Chinese warships last came to Vladivostok in 2008.