By Published on 01/06/2020 – Last Updated on 01/06/2020 by OTC
The PN-PLAN Bilateral Exercise, code-named Sea Guardians-2020, kicked off at the Pakistan Navy Dock Yard in Karachi, Pakistan on the morning of January 6, local time.
The joint drill will be held from January 6 to 14 in waters of northern Arabian Sea, with the purpose of enhancing security cooperation between the two countries, consolidating the development of the all-weather strategic partnership, and promoting the joint construction of a safe marine environment.
The joint drill also aims to innovate the methods of conducting China-Pakistan joint naval drills and enhance the capabilities of the two navies to jointly cope with maritime terrorism and crime. The drill has nothing to do with the regional situation and is not targeted at any third party.
Vice Admiral Dong Jun, general director of the Chinese side and deputy commander of PLA Southern Theater Command, and Vice Admiral Asif Khaliq, general director of the Pakistani side and commander of the Pakistani Naval Fleet delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. VA. Khaliq then announced the start of the drill.
The Chinese participating troops mainly consist of the naval forces under the PLA Southern Theater Command. The PLA Navy deployed five warships including destroyer, frigate, supply ship and submarine rescue vessel with two ship-borne helicopters and dispatched more than 60 special operations soldiers.
The Pakistani participating troops mainly include two Zulfiquar-class F22P/F21 frigates, two fast attack craft (FAC), one fixed-wing anti-submarine patrol aircraft, two ship-borne helicopters and more than 60 special operations soldiers.
The drill consists of two phases including port training and maritime joint drill. The drill covers subjects including discussion and exchange, tactical deduction, formation movement, joint patrol, air-defense and anti-missile, maritime interception and temporary inspection, visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations, joint anti-submarine, maritime live-firing, and joint marine training.
The Chinese participating naval ships, including the guided-missile destroyer Yinchuan (Hull 175), the guided-missile frigate Yuncheng (Hull 571), the comprehensive supply ship Weishanhu (Hull 887), and the submarine rescue ship Liugongdao (Hull 865) have already docked at Karachi military port on January 4 and 5 local time.
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