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UK Naval Task Group Visits Hong Kong
A United Kingdom naval task group consisting of three British ships and one French ship paid a formal visit to Hong Kong Tuesday.
The Task Group, including HMS Cornwall, HMS Newcastle, RFA Fort Victoria and the French ship FS Aconit, which left Britain in May, called at Hong Kong following visits to Singapore, Manila and Penang. The group will visit Shanghai and Qingdao before going on to the Republic of Korea and Japan.
The visit was the third such visit since China's resumption of exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, following successful visits by HMS Nottingham and HMS Boxer in December 1997 and March 1999, respectively.
"The visits to Hong Kong and China's mainland form part of the UK Naval Task Group 2000 deployment to the Asia-Pacific region, playing an important part in the development of closer military ties and in furtherance of the continuing development of UK- Chinese relations," Commander of the UK task group Rear-Admiral Stephen Meyer told a media briefing.
He said the deployment would give the ships' crews an opportunity to enjoy this fascinating city. The ship's companies will also be involved in a number of sporting fixtures with Hong Kong teams during their four-day stay in Victoria Harbor.
The task group also provides a valuable opportunity to demonstrate the excellence of British defense technology to potential customers, the commander said.
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