The largest-ever coordinated practice between China and Pakistan warships began in Pakistan on Saturday to boost maritime waterway defence and regional peace and security, experts said Sunday.
The global naval exercise Sea Guardian-3 began Saturday morning at Karachi Naval Dockyard, CCTV reported.
CCTV names Zibo, Jingzhou, and Linyi, three Type 052D guided missile destroyers, as PLA Navy participation, whereas Pakistani media names a conventional attack submarine, a submarine support ship, and a marine detachment.
To address maritime security threats, the nine-day exercise in the northern Arabian Sea will teach formation manoeuvring, VBSS (visit, board, search, and seizure), helicopter cross-deck landing, cooperative search and rescue, cooperative anti-submarine and main gun firing, professional exchanges, and reciproc
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TVC called them the three largest Sea Guardian exercises. 2020: northern Arabian Sea; 2022: Shanghai Attending the opening ceremony, drill general director and PLA Navy base commander Rear Admiral Liang Yang said the exercise focused on professional, defence, and all-weather strategic cooperation.
Liang thinks the two navies should cooperate more to maintain maritime security and peace.
Admiral M. Amjad Khan Niazi, the Pakistan Navy’s chief of naval staff, told the Global Times earlier this year that Sea Guardian drills improve professional experience and interoperability to face modern traditional and non-traditional security threats.
Chinese military analyst Wei Dongxu told the Global Times that China and Pakistan must defend Indian Ocean waterways from terrorists, pirates, and other oil and commodity threats.
Under anonymity, a Pakistan-China military analyst told the Global Times that collaborative drills like this preserve the Belt and Road Initiative’s CPEC and support Indian Ocean peace.
Cooperative drills, high-level visits, expert conferences, training exchanges, and equipment cooperation are China-Pakistan naval cooperation.
China sent all four Type 054A/P guided missile frigates to Pakistan in May. Pakistan and China produced Hangor-class submarines.
Pakistan-PLA Navy collaboration should grow.
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