Chinese Navy ships visit Davao

DAVAO CITY – Three Chinese Navy vessels arrived yesterday afternoon at Sasa Wharf here on the first leg of goodwill visits in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao public affairs officer Lt. Jetmark Marcos said the Philippine Navy welcomed the visiting ships.

Marcos said the event was like welcoming a visitor to one’s home where the Philippine Navy met the Chinese

ships at sea through the BRP Nicolas, which escorted the vessels to their berthing or docking place at the wharf.

Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Ronald Joseph Mercado told The

S TA R that the visit of the Chinese naval vessels from Shanghai is a welcome development amid warming ties between China and the Philippines after both have decided to bring years of island disputes in the South China Sea under control.

It is also the first visit by Chinese military ships to the country in seven years.

The three Chinese naval vessels are Chang Chun (DDG 150), a guided missile destroyer; Jin Zhou (FFG 532), a guided missile frigate and Chao Hu (890), a replenishment ship.

President Duterte is expected to visit the Chinese naval vessels today following Labor Day celebrations here.

Rear Adm. Shen Hao, the deputy commander of the East Sea Fleet of the People’s Liberation Army Navy and the concurrent commander-in-chief of the PLA Navy Task Group 150, heads the flotilla.

Welcome ceremonies and a port briefing were held upon the arrival of the vessels, where local officials as well as officials of the country’s business community were present.

The three ships conducted their first resupply mission in western Pacific waters on Friday.

All three ships were reportedly domestically made. It is the maiden overseas voyage of the Jin Zhou, commissioned in 2016. The other two ships have conducted many escort, drill and patrol missions.

Mercado said the Philippine Navy welcomes the arrival of the Chinese vessels here in the Philippines, especially in the hometown of the President.

Other activities lined up during the goodwill visit include goodwill games, a shipboard tour for the public, and a sendoff ceremony when the Chinese ships leave tomorrow as they continue their journey to other ASEAN countries.

The Chinese military ships followed Russian and United States military sea vessels that also came to the country for goodwill visits.

On April 20, two Russian Navy ships including the guided missile cruiser Varyag and the large sea tanker Pechenga from the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy docked at Manila’s South Harbor.

Earlier in the same month, a US guidedmissile destroyer called the USS Fitzgerald of the US Carrier Strike Group 5 on deployment in the South China Sea also visited the country through Subic Bay in Zambales.

In January this year, two Russian vessels including a Russian anti-submarine warship likewise visited the country for a weeklong vacation.

President Duterte himself toured the Russian warship Admiral Tributs while docked in Port Area, Manila along with the large sea tanker Boris Butoma.