Article Posted on : - Nov 21, 2011

SEOUL (BNS): South Korea and China will begin the joint Search and Rescue Exercise or SAREX from Tuesday, according to a news report.

The two countries will also hold military talks during the exercise which will be held in waters off Ningbo and Shanghai till Friday, a Yonhap report said.

This is the fourth exercise between the two navies. The South Korean Navy will deploy its 4,500-ton Wang Geon destroyer while China will send a frigate to the exercise.

The Defence ministers of the two countries have agreed to hold the exercise during South Korean Minister Kim Kwan-jin's visit to Beijing in January and it be will be a humanitarian exercise, the South Korean Navy said in a statement.

The two countries will also held talks on naval exchange and cooperation in areas such as naval search and rescue operations, as well as holding similar meetings on a regular basis.

Rear Adm. Moon Byung-ok, commander of the 3rd Navy Fleet, will lead South Korea's delegation, countered by Vice Adm. Xu Jianzhong, political commissar for China's East Sea Fleet, it added.