Chinese naval training ship heading to Philippines after wrapping up friendly visit to Brunei

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, June 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese naval training ship Qi Jiguang (Hull 83), which is on a cadet training and visit mission in far seas, departed for the Philippines on Thursday after successfully concluding its goodwill visit to Brunei.

The Bruneian side held a grand farewell ceremony at the Muara Port. More than 200 people, including Chinese Ambassador to Brunei Xiao Jianguo, defense attache Dai Qilin, representatives of Chinese companies, local Bruneians, and representatives of the Royal Brunei Navy, went to the port to see off the ship.

After leaving the port, the ship Qi Jiguang held joint sailing exercises with the Royal Brunei Navy offshore patrol vessel KDB Darussalam after arriving at the designated sea area.

During their visit to Brunei, the representatives of the Chinese navy members carried out courtesy calls, professional exchanges, beach environmental protection activities and cultural and sports interactions with officers and soldiers of the Royal Brunei Navy.

When visiting Brunei's naval training center, the Chinese navy cadets also held in-depth exchanges on naval personnel training with their Bruneian counterparts.

During its stay, the ship Qi Jiguang also held an on-deck reception attended by about 200 people, including officials from the Brunei government, army forces, members of the diplomatic corps, and representatives from local Chinese communities and Chinese enterprises in Brunei.

The ship Qi Jiguang organized five open-day activities for the public, attracting more than 1,000 visitors. Princess Hajah Masna, Ambassador-at-Large at Brunei's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and her spouse were among the visitors.

Accompanied by Chinese Ambassador Xiao Jianguo and defense attache Dai Qilin, the princess inspected the guard of honor on the ship.

"China and Brunei are close neighbors across the sea, mutually trusted friends and partners with common development goals. I hope both sides can continue to deepen cooperation in the future," she said during her visit.

Named after Qi Jiguang, a national hero of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, the ship was commissioned in February 2017 as the largest and most modernized Chinese homegrown professional training ship. This is the second visit to Brunei by the naval training ship.