A French naval fleet arrived in Qingdao, a port city in east
China's Shandong
Province, Friday morning for joint naval exercises with the
North China Sea Fleet of the People's Liberation Army Navy to be
held on March 16.
The two-warship fleet with 322 crew members aboard includes an
anti-submarine-warfare destroyer Latouche-Treville and a light
frigate Commandant Birot.
Chinese guided missile destroyer Harbin, replenishment ship
Hongze Lake and shipboard helicopter Dolphin will work with the
French warships for the first naval drills in the nontraditional
security area between China and France.
The five-day tour is the twelfth visit made by French warships to
China and the fourth to Qingdao, the base of the North China Sea
Fleet.
Louis De Contenson, navy commander of the French Pacific
Military Region, will arrive in Qingdao for the exercises.
The one-day exercise includes ship and shipboard helicopter
tactic maneuvers, replenishment exercises at sea and communication
as well as search-and-rescue exercise.
An official with the Chinese Defense Ministry said the joint
exercise is a sign of the good Sino-French relations. Chinese
President Hu Jintao had just paid a successful state visit to
France and the two countries celebrated the 40th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations, he said, adding that the
joint drill will further the state-to-state and
military-to-military relations between the two countries.
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(Xinhua News Agency March 13, 2004)
