China commissions new missile destroyer

BEIJING: The Chinese navy today commissioned a new 4,000-tonne guided missile destroyer which can attack ships and submarines.

The missile destroyer, called "Huanggang" was officially commissioned to the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) at Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang province.

It was named after a city in central China's Hubei province and had the hull number 577.

The ship is 140 metres long and 16 metres wide. It has a full displacement of more than 4,000 tonnes, state-run news agency reported. It is one of the new generation of battle warships with long-range detection and air-defence capabilities.

Naval sources say it can attack surface ships and submarines independently or provide cooperative combat to other naval forces.