Chinese naval escort taskforce docks in Singapore

During its way back to China after concluding friendly visits to Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Iran and Pakistan, the 17th naval escort taskforce of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), composed of the guided missile destroyer "Changchun" and the guide missile frigate "Changzhou", docked at the Changi Port of the Republic of Singapore for replenishment at 09:00 on October 11, 2014.

The Chinese naval taskforce was warmly welcomed by over 100 personnel at the port, including Duan Jielong, Chinese ambassador to Singapore, Li Daozhong, China's military attaché to Singapore, and representatives of Chinese overseas students.

The taskforce left Changi Port and continued its voyage back to China on the morning of October 13 after its two-day technical docking.

It is learnt that in recent years, there have been frequent exchanges between the navies of China and Singapore. Various warships of Singapore Navy including the RSS Dauntless, the RSS Intrepid, the RSS Stalwart, the RSS Formidable and the RSS Brave have visited China successively and many Chinese naval escort taskforces have had docked in Singapore for technical reason.

Moreover, a delegation led by Rear Admiral Huang Xinjian, commander of the 17th Chinese naval escort taskforce, boarded Singapore's guided missile frigate RSS Tenacious and had exchanges with the Singapore Navy on pirate activities and experiences in combating pirates during the escort missions in the Gulf of Aden in June of 2014.