A taskforce under the command of the PLA Navy South China Sea Fleet left a naval port in Sanya in south China's Hainan province on Jan. 20 to conduct combat readiness training in the South China Sea, the West Pacific, and the East Indian Ocean.

The taskforce, composed of an amphibious dock landing ship and two guided missile destroyers, as well as three helicopters, an airboat, and a company of naval ratings, will conduct training in such programs as command post, support operations, ocean maneuvers, and political work.

Rear-Admiral and military expert Yin Zhuo says the PLA Navy needs to increase the intensity of its ocean-going training.

"In the past, our navy was limited to offshore areas. Now we're operating in distant waters," Yin said in an interview with CCTV.

According to Yin, ocean-going capability is a major growth point for the PLA Navy's overall combat capacity, and the demands of this year's training will be considerably higher than last year, and even more so next year.

"Large amounts of our naval equipment need to be tested in the theaters where they belong, especially in areas where our vital national interests lie. We feel that the ocean-going combat capability of our Navy is not keeping pace with the development of our interests in such areas," he said.

Combat-readiness patrols and ocean-going training are a routine component of the annual military training of the South China Sea Fleet. The amphibious dock landing ship is China's largest-tonnage ship of the type, with an advanced weapon system. Both the missile destroyers have carried out escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and participated in China-Russia joint military exercises.