Chinese navy starts distant water training

Chinese Navy training vessels Zhenghe and Weifang, left Dalian on Wednesday for 56 days of training in distant waters and will visit India, Myanmar, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The fleet, under command of Han Xiaohu, assistant to the Chinese chief of naval operations, is scheduled to cross the Miyako Strait, the Malacca Strait and Sund Strait, covering a total of 12,000 nautical miles.

The sailors on the fleet will hold exchange programs with their counterparts from the countries they visit, which include inviting foreign military students on board to eat and live with the Chinese sailors for several days.

Along with crew, Zhenghe is carrying 171 students from Dalian Naval Academy, the Naval University of Engineering and the Naval Aeronautical Engineering Institute.

Between April and September 2012, the training vessel completed a global voyage, paying calls to 14 countries and regions.

China's missile frigate, Weifang, with a displacement of 4,000 tonnes, mainly shoulders the responsibility of cooperative air defense, sea patrols and ocean convoys.