Chinese, Cambodian warships hold unprecedented drill prior to joint exercise

Aerial photo shows a flotilla of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy carring relief supplies arriving in Nuku' alofa, Tonga, Feb. 15, 2022.Photo:Xinhua

The Type 071 comprehensive landing ship of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, which was carrying Chinese troops to participate in the upcoming China-Cambodia Golden Dragon-2023 joint exercise, held an unprecedented drill with Cambodian vessels on Sunday.

After a voyage of nearly 100 hours across about 1,300 nautical miles, the Type 071 ship Jinggangshan arrived in Cambodian waters on Sunday and carried out an exercise over coordinated navigation and communications, according to a press the PLA Southern Theater Command released on the same day.

During the exercise, the Jinggangshan made contacts with two patrol boats of the Royal Cambodian Navy and established communications before practicing coordinated navigation in different formations, said the press release.

This is acknowledged as the first time that the militaries of China and Cambodia have conducted such a maritime exercise, said the PLA Southern Theater Command.

"In the two-hour navigation and communication exercise with the Cambodian navy, our organization and command were precise, coordination was close, and communications were smooth," Captain Xu Jinfeng, the commanding officer of the Jinggangshan, said in a Sunday report by China Central Television (CCTV).

The Jinggangshan was carrying Chinese troops from the Army, the Navy and the Joint Logistic Support Force of the PLA Southern Theater Command to participate in the Golden Dragon-2023 joint exercise with Cambodia. The ship set out from Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong Province on Wednesday.

The joint naval exercise before the official start of the Golden Dragon-2023 joint drills marked a high level of comprehensive military exchange and cooperation between China and Cambodia, a Beijing-based military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Sunday.

More naval interactions like this are expected in the future, the expert said.

During the voyage to Cambodia, the Jinggangshan practiced the handling of emergencies in order to boost the ship's capability in long-range delivery, another CCTV report said on Saturday.

The mission honed the sailors' ability to deal with emergencies due to the long voyage, the complex sea situations and the constantly changing weather conditions, the report said.

As the fifth joint exercise between the armed forces of China and Cambodia, the annual Golden Dragon-2023 will be held from Monday to April 8, with more than 3,000 personnel and over 300 vehicles from both sides participating in exercises focused on operations for the security of important events and humanitarian aid.