Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 14) — A training ship of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is now in Manila for a “goodwill visit,” the Philippine Navy said.
Qi Jiguang docked at the Port of Manila on Wednesday, June 14, as part of its regional tour. The ship will be in the country until June 17. Its previous stops included Vietnam, Thailand, and Brunei.
Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said this is the first Philippine visit of Qi Jiguang – the \”largest and most advanced naval training vessel designed and built by China herself\” – since it was commissioned in 2017.
It also marked the first time in four years that a Chinese naval ship was in the country after the PLAN’s Escort Task Group 539, composed of three vessels, held a five-day goodwill port call in January 2019.
\”A steady step in CN-PH defense cooperation, the ship’s four-day goodwill port call is following the tradition of exchanges between the two militaries in addition to implementing the important consensus between the heads-of-state of China and the Philippines,\” Huang said in a statement.
The visit came less than two months after the near-collision of a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) ship and a much smaller Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel in the West Philippine Sea due to what the latter described as the Chinese ship’s “dangerous” maneuvers.
Four months ago, a CCG vessel also aimed a military-grade laser at a PCG ship in disputed waters, temporarily blinding crew members – something Beijing has denied doing.
