After their arrival, the commander of the Primorsky Flotilla of the heterogeneous forces of the Pacific Fleet, Rear Admiral Valery Kazakov, held talks with his Chinese counterpart
QINGDAO /China/, August 21. /tass/. Three ships of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy entered the port of the Chinese city of Qingdao (eastern Shandong Province) after completing tasks during exercises and joint patrols with the Navy of the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) in the western and northern parts of the Pacific Ocean. Large anti-submarine ships of the Pacific Fleet "Admiral Tributs" and "Admiral Panteleev", as well as the corvette "Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov" approached the pier of the port of Qingdao, a TASS correspondent reports.
Bad weather has made its own adjustments to the ceremony of meeting Russian ships. Some of them had to moor in heavy downpour conditions. The Admiral Panteleev was the first to approach the pier, and the corvette Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov was the last to dock.
After the arrival of the ships, which were attended by the commander of the Navy of the Northern Joint Command of the PLA, Vice Admiral Wang Dazhong, he held talks with the commander of the Primorsky Flotilla of heterogeneous forces of the Pacific Fleet, Rear Admiral Valery Kazakov.
"Today we have completed a joint patrol as part of the ships of the Russian Navy and the Chinese Navy. During the joint patrol, management issues from both sides, conducting all types of reconnaissance, as well as other combat training activities were worked out. Both sides have shown high results, the ability to act in difficult and difficult situations, as well as high maritime training," Kazakov told Russian journalists.
According to the Rear Admiral, interaction with Chinese sailors, including exercises and joint patrols, has become a good practice. "From year to year, the level of interaction is only growing, and, let's say, maritime training is also increasing. And it was probably a pleasant surprise that the sailors of both sides understand each other from half a word," he said, adding that during the joint patrol they successfully managed to overcome the language barrier.
The program of the visit to Qingdao, he said, provides for visits by Russian sailors to local attractions. "I would also like to say that it has become a good tradition that Chinese sailors visit the city of Vladivostok, and we, accordingly, visit the city of Qingdao. The city of Qingdao and the city of Vladivostok have by and large become twin cities," the Rear Admiral said.
Exercises and patrols
From July 20 to 23, joint Russian-Chinese naval exercises "North. Interaction-2023". In total, about 20 combat exercises were performed, including joint artillery firing at different types of targets.
From Russia, large anti-submarine ships of the Pacific Fleet "Admiral Tributs" and "Admiral Panteleev", corvettes "Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov" and "Gremyashchy", as well as support vessels took part in the exercises. From the Chinese side, the destroyers "Qiqihar" and "Guiyang", the patrol ships "Zaozhuang" and "Zhizhao", as well as the ship of complex supply "Taihu" were involved. On July 24, Chinese ships made a friendly visit to the port of Vladivostok. After the exercises, the ships of the two countries conducted joint patrols in the western and northern parts of the Pacific Ocean.
In early July, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu met with the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolai Evmenov, in Beijing. Li Shangfu noted that thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, the relations between the military of the two countries will continue to deepen and strengthen. He also expressed hope for strengthening ties at all levels.
According to the calculations of the US National Defense University, Russia and China last year held a record number of joint military exercises over the past 20 years. The parties organized six joint exercises, and five of them took place after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine in February.
On July 5, the Russian corvettes "Loud" and "Perfect" also entered the port of Shanghai on a friendly visit. This was the first visit of Russian ships to Shanghai since the end of anti-ship restrictions.
