Chinese warships hold rare exercises in Indian Ocean

BEIJING: After conducting rare exercises in the Indian Ocean, a flotilla of three Chinese warships has entered the West Pacific Ocean to start a drill there.

The warships from the Nanhai Fleet are China's largest amphibious landing craft Changbaishan and destroyers Wuhan and Haikou.

The ships conducted 10 exercises, including anti-pirate, joint search and rescue, and damage control drills in the Indian Ocean from January 29, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

The report did not mention the location where the drills took place.

Exercises based on defence and settlement of emergencies were also conducted to test the command system's response and soldiers' combat skills.

Changbaishan is China's largest landing ship by gross tonnage and is equipped with an advanced weapons system.

Both Wuhan and Haikou have participated in major drills and escort missions in the Gulf of Aden.

The flotilla passed along the Lombok Strait, Makassar Strait and the Sulawesi Sea to enter the West Pacific Ocean.