1st foreign ship arrives for PLA Navy celebrations

chinadaily.com.cn

1st foreign ship arrives for PLA Navy celebrations - Global Times:  A Singapore navy frigate arrived at Dagang port in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province on Friday - the first foreign warship to reach the port ahead of celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.

The RSS Stalwart, one of Singapore's largest warships, arrived at 10:25 am Friday. Navy delegations from more than 60 countries and vessels from more than 10 countries are expected to participate. 

They will join the multinational navy celebrations from Monday to Thursday as part of celebrations for the PLA Navy anniversary, which falls on Tuesday.

The event will include a maritime parade, high-level seminars, joint military music performances and cultural and military exchanges. 

India's indigenous stealth destroyer INS Kolkata and fleet tanker INS Shakti will participate in the celebrations, the Xinhua News Agency quoted official sources in the Indian Navy as saying on Friday. 

The two ships are scheduled to arrive in Qingdao on April 21, and will participate in the maritime parade on April 23.

The full list of foreign vessels participating in the event hasn't been officially released by the Chinese side. Media reports said the Japanese destroyer Suzutsuki,Philippine amphibious landing dock Davao Del Sur, two frigates from Vietnam and Russian ships will participate in the fleet review. The review will be the largest in China since 1949. 

The US has decided not to send any ships, but US allies Japan and South Korea are expected to send ships and officials, the Japan Times reported.

On China's official military site, an article said "the development of Chinese naval vessels represents the development of the country." "China can build many advanced surface warships because of its national strength and defense scientific research capability."

During the 60th PLA Navy anniversary in 2009, 21 vessels from 14 countries participated in the parade.

China News Service

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