Chinese warships depart Singapore

Two Chinese Navy warships, destroyer Guangzhou and frigate Chaohu led by Rear Admiral Zhang Wendan, left Singapore's Changi naval base on Tuesday for China.

The vessels are part of the fifth Chinese naval escort flotilla, which just completed patrolling the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters to protect commercial ships from pirate attacks.

At 3 p.m. local time, some 200 people, including Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Wei Wei and other Chinese diplomats, representatives of Chinese companies and students, waved goodbye to see off the navy soldiers at the port.

During its stopover at Singapore, the flotilla added supplies and exchanged with the Singapore navy on escort experiences. The two navies also held a joint naval drill on Tuesday afternoon.

China's fifth naval escort flotilla with more than 800 officers and soldiers has successfully escorted 588 Chinese and foreign vessels in 41 batches since it arrived in the pirate-infested waters in early March this year. The flotilla docked Singapore on Sept. 5 before visiting Egypt, Italy, Greece and Myanmar, and is expected to arrive in China on Sept. 11.

Source: Xinhua