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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Chinese warships set out for Western Pacific drills
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy warship Changsha is pictured in an undated picture. Screengrab from the Internet
By Lo Tien-pin and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
A new round of blue-sea naval exercises involving the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s North Sea, East Sea and South Sea fleets is to be held in the Western Pacific, the Chinese-language People’s Liberation Army Daily reported yesterday.
A Luyang II-class and a Luyang III-class guided missile destroyer, as well as a Fuchi-class replenishment ship, of the South Sea Fleet sailed from a military port near Sanya on China’s Hainan Island and are scheduled to meet with other units in the South China Sea for the first round of exercises, the report said.
The Luyang III-class is one of a “new class” of warships designed and manufactured by China, which claims that it has better anti-aircraft and naval surface combat capabilities than its predecessors, the report said, adding that a helicopter and marine units were stationed on the ship.
The naval drills are to simulate combat scenarios related to joint anti-aircraft, anti-terrorism and anti-piracy operations, it added.
The Luyang II-class reportedly has strong mid to long-range anti-aircraft capabilities, commonly regarded as being on par with the US-made Aegis Combat System, the report said.
The Fuchi-class was designed to address China’s need for blue-sea replenishment, with China claiming it has the capability to replenish supplies and fuel for a variety of ship classes, the newspaper said, adding that it has also been outfitted with “adequate” anti-aircraft and anti-ship defenses.
The report quoted South Sea Fleet Rear Admiral Yu Manjiang （俞滿江） as saying that the drills are part of annual exercises that are conducted in accordance with international law and customs.
In Taipei, the Ministry of National Defense said the three vessels were the crux of the exercises, adding that they would sail through the southern end of the Taiwan Strait, passing near the nation’s southeast on their way to a rendezvous with the other fleets in the Western Pacific.
The ministry said it would closely monitor the Chinese warships’ movements.
Some pundits said the exercises were a “show of force” by China to Taiwan, the US and Japan, citing relatively recent Chinese naval drills in December last year that involved the Liaoning, China’s only operational aircraft carrier.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
