China started a five-day joint maritime exercise with Singapore on Sunday to “promote practical exchanges and cooperation,” between the two countries, the Chinese defence ministry said.
The opening ceremony of China-Singapore Exercise Maritime Cooperation 2024 was held at a military port in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, in southern China on Sunday, state news agency Xinhua said.
It is the third edition of the series since the inauguration of the exercise in 2015. These drills, expected to take place until Thursday, will be longer and have more exercise subjects compared to previous drills.
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“The two sides will organise drills, including joint anti-surface strike, replenishment-at-sea, joint search and rescue, visit, board, search and seizure,” said Chinese defence ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian in announcing the exercise on Thursday.
“As the third edition of this series of exercise, it will further enhance mutual trust and friendship, and promote practical exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries.”
Singapore’s ministry of defence announced on Sunday that its navy Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Kwan Hon Chuong and the Chinese navy’s South Sea Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Li Pengcheng co-officiated the opening ceremony at Ma Xie Naval Base attended by around 200 participants from both militaries.
“The strong and friendly defence relationship between Singapore and China is exemplified by Exercise Maritime Cooperation,” Kwan said.
“This exercise has consistently provided invaluable opportunities for our navies to learn from each other, build mutual trust and understanding, and forge friendships.”
The People’s Liberation Army Navy has sent its Type 054A frigate Sanya and Type 082-II minesweeper Hejian to take part with Singapore’s Formidable-class frigate RSS Stalwart, which arrived in Zhanjiang on Thursday.
The exercise – which comprises a range of offshore drills, such as helicopter cross-deck landing, gunnery firing, search-and-rescue and manoeuvring exercises – underscored the “long-standing, warm and friendly bilateral defence relationship between Singapore and China,” the Singapore defence ministry press release said.
It comes after the last Exercise Maritime Cooperation drill series was conducted in Singapore, near the southern tip of the South China Sea, in May last year when the two navies pledged to “further deepen” their friendship.
The two militaries engage their armies in another Cooperation drill series that they say focuses on counterterrorism, most recently in September last year.
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The naval drill between China and Singapore comes amid rising tensions in the South China Sea as Beijing and Manila clash near disputed islands. The Chinese and Philippine coastguards have engaged in confrontations involving water cannons and vessel collisions.
On Saturday, Chinese and Philippine coastguards collided – the third time in August – near the disputed Sabina Shoal, exchanging blame and accusing each other of deliberately ramming the other’s vessels.
