China and Russia will hold a series of naval exercises in the Yellow Sea toward the end of this month, a Chinese military spokesman announced last week, in what could be the largest drill ever held by the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in the West Pacific.
Chinese military spokesman Yang Yujun (楊宇軍) announced during a regular monthly press conference on Thursday that the PLAN and the Russian Navy would hold the exercises under an agreement reached during a visit by PLA Chief of General Staff Chen Bingde (陳炳德) during a visit to Moscow in August last year.
The joint maneuvers, which are planned for April 22 through April 29, will be held in the Yellow Sea, beginning at Vladivostok, Russia, and concluding in Qingdao, in China’s Shandong Province.
The Chinese-language Renmin Ribao reported that the Russian Pacific Fleet would dispatch more than 10 warships, led by a missile cruiser, to participate in the exercise.
On the Chinese side, a mixed fleet, led by a guided-missile destroyer, will be dispatched from the PLAN’s North Sea fleet.
The Hong Kong-based Oriental Daily reported at the weekend that the maneuvers would be the largest ever held by the PLAN in the West Pacific.
Russian Navy Deputy Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Leonid Sukhanov said the exercise would be held within the framework of the “strategic partnership” agreed by the leaders of the both countries.
The exercises will involve tests for the command-and-control, armaments, support and protection systems of the two navies, Sukhanov was quoted by the Renmin Ribao as saying. The navies will also conduct surface and underwater exercises and test combat systems interoperability, as well as the effectiveness of automated control systems, electronics and information warfare.
“Participating naval forces will train in the prevention of armed conflicts in exclusive economic zones,” he said.
China and Russia have conducted a number of joint military exercises since 2005 under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
The move comes amid a “return” to the Asia-Pacific region announced by the administration of US President Barack Obama. In the coming months, the US Navy is expected to participate in a series of joint exercises in the region, including the Balikatan drills with the Philippines in the South China Sea from April 16 through April 27.
The PLAN’s North Sea fleet would likely play a major role in any conflict over the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台), which are claimed by Taiwan, Japan and China.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
RSS