Up to six PLA warships conduct routine operations in Middle East over past week
Up to six Chinese warships have been operating in the Middle East over the past week, according to reports.
The 44th naval escort task force has been involved in routine operations in the area since May and last week spent several days on a visit to Oman, including a joint exercise with the country’s navy, according to the Chinese defence ministry website.
The task force left the capital Muscat on Saturday, en route to an unspecified destination, state media reported.
During the visit, Chinese commanders met Omani military officials and visited military institutions, while sailors from both nations toured each other’s shops. They also organised a basketball game, according to Xinhua.
The task force is from the People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theatre, and includes the Zibo, a Type 052D guided-missile destroyer, the frigate Jingzhou and the integrated supply ship Qiandaohu.
It has been involved in escort missions for shipping since arriving in the Gulf of Aden, north of Somalia, six months ago and handed over its mission to the 45th escort task force earlier this month.
The new convoy, from the PLA’s Northern Theatre command, consists of another Type 052 destroyer, the Urumqi; the frigate Linyi and supply ship Dongpinghu. The Linyi took part in its first mission, escorting a Panamanian cargo ship in an unknown location, earlier this month, according to Xinhua.
The tour was the destroyer Zibo’s first escort mission since being commissioned in January 2020. The Urumqi was commissioned in early 2018 and was involved in another escort mission in the Gulf of Aden two years ago.
The Type 052D destroyers carry advanced radar and electronic equipment comparable with the US Navy’s Aegis system and a 64-cell vertical missile launcher.
The naval presence means six
Chinese vessels were operating in Middle Eastern waters as tensions mounted in the region.
In the wake of the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, the United States sent its most advanced carrier – the USS Gerald R Ford and its battle group – to the eastern Mediterranean. The Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group is also on its way to the region.
On Wednesday, the Pentagon revealed the deployment of an additional command ship, the USS Mount Whitney, to the area.
Several countries, including Britain, Germany and France, have sent military or civilian planes to evacuate their nationals from Israel.
Beijing has not yet announced an evacuation plan, although its foreign ministry earlier this week said that Chinese citizens were advised to leave as soon as possible on commercial flights.
Previous Chinese evacuations in the Middle East used escort warships of the type currently in the region.
In May, China sent a supply ship and a Type 052D destroyer to Sudan to evacuate more than 1,000 Chinese, Brazilians and Pakistanis from armed conflicts.
In 2015, Chinese warships evacuated 225 foreigners and nearly 600 Chinese nationals from Yemen.