By GuoYuandan
The Chinese official media reported on February 25 that the Chinese naval taskforce held a joint maritime drill with the Singaporean Navy in waters near Singapore on February 24. The Ministry of National Defense of Singapore also announced the joint exercises in the international waters at the southern end of the South China Sea under the ongoing situation of the COVID-19 pandemic,aiming to enhance mutual understanding and deepen friendship.
According to the news released by the Chinese side, China sent the guided-missile destroyer Guiyang (Hull 119) and the guided-missile frigate Zaozhuang (Hull 542) of the 36th Chinese naval escort taskforce to the drill. And the Singaporean side sent frigates RSS Intrepid and RSS Sovereignty to the drill. The drill mainly involves such subjects as communication exercises, formation movement, and joint search and rescue.
Regarding the significance of the China-Singapore joint naval drill, Snr. Capt. Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Naval Military Studies Research Institute, said that first of all, the joint drill lays a good foundation for further strengthening maritime security cooperation in the future. Second, the joint drill helps maintain regional security and stability.
According to Zhang, one of the important subjects involved in the drill is joint search and rescue, which is of practical significance. The South China Sea is an important international transportation channel with dense routes and many passing ships. Every year, there are 100,000 ships from various countries passing through the South China Sea. At the same time, the hydrology and weather of the South China Sea are relatively complicated, and marine geological hazards and accidents continue to occur.
The armed forces of all countries are responsible for maritime search and rescue. According to the Search and Rescue (SAR) zone designated by the International Maritime Organization, both China and Singapore bear the responsibility for maritime search and rescue in the South China Sea. In the event of a shipwreck in the South China Sea in the future, the two navies would be able to conduct maritime search and rescue to protect the peoples’ lives and property and maintain the safety of navigation in the South China Sea.
This joint drill comes after China and Singapore had participated in the China-ASEAN joint naval drills in October 2018 and April 2019. It demonstrates the aspiration and determination of both sides to jointly address risks and challenges, and safeguard regional peace and stability, said Zhang.
In recent years, the armed forces of two countries have also conducted a series of bilateral military cooperations and participated in multilateral military exercises.
When Singapore's frigate RSS Intrepid visited Zhanjiang, South China’s port city in 2014, the two sides conducted basic technical training such as maritime communication exercises and formation movement. In 2015, China and Singapore held the first bilateral naval drill code-named "China-Singapore Cooperation - 2015". And at the end of May 2019, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Defense General Wei Fenghe visited Singapore and met with Singapore's Minister of Defense Ng Eng Hen. The two sides agreed to host the Singapore-China "Exercise Maritime Cooperation" in 2020.
Editor's note: This article is originally published on huanqiu.com, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
