Sailing ship ARM Cuauhtemoc of the Mexican Navy arrived in Qingdao on Saturday to attend an international fleet review on April 23 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army Navy.
The visiting Mexican ship was received by Senior Colonel Han Xiangzhong, deputy leader of a destroyer detachment of the PLA's North Sea Fleet. The ARM Cuauhtemoc and the Chinese Navy exchanged21 salutes with one another, when the former arrived at the Chinese naval port of Qingdao.
Mexican ambassador Jorge Guajardo, naval attache Captain Pedro Ladino and other Maxican embassy officials were also present at the port.
Captain Francisco Gonzalez, of the ARM Cuauhtemoc, thanked the Chinese Navy for invitation to attend the international fleet review. He called the event an important one for the Mexican people.
Mexican naval soldiers stand on the masts of their military ship upon its arrival at the Qingdao port in east China's Shandong province, April 18, 2009. (Xinhua Photo) The Cuauhtemoc was the first visiting ship to attend the naval celebration and will join another 20 foreign naval vessels from 14countries scheduled to rendezvous at the port city Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province.
The ship, named after the last Aztec emperor who died in the war against the Spanish in the 1500s, is a tall ship ordered by the Mexican Navy from Spain in 1982, with a displacement of 1800 tonnes.
With distinguishing three main masts, the Cuauhtemoc has been regarded as a living symbol of the sailor spirit that characterizes the personnel of the Mexican navy.
It has been the ship's third trip to China after it visited China's largest city Shanghai in 1990 and 2002.
As the paramount part of the naval celebration, the visiting ships will observe a naval parade of about 20 Chinese warships and attend the international fleet review to be staged in the waters southeast off the city.
The PLA Navy was founded on April 23, 1949 with nine warships and 17 boats obtained after a unit of the Kuomintang's second coastal defense fleet defected to the PLA.
Source: Xinhua
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