Article Posted on : - May 02, 2014

BEIJING (PTI): Two Chinese Navy training vessels have embarked on a visit to India and three other Asian countries for training in distant waters.

Zhenghe and Weifang, left Dalian port on Thursday for 56 days to visit India, Myanmar, Indonesia and Vietnam.

They were expected to visit Eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam.

The fleet, under command of Han Xiaohu, assistant to the Chinese chief of naval operations, is scheduled to cross the Miyako Strait, the Malacca Strait and Sund Strait, covering a total of 12,000 nautical miles, state-run Xinhua reported.

The sailors on the fleet will hold exchange programmes with their counterparts from the countries they visit, which include inviting foreign military students on board to eat and live with the Chinese sailors for several days.

The vessels are on a voyage for training in distant waters.

Between April and September 2012, Zhenghe completed a global voyage, paying calls to 14 countries and regions.

China's missile frigate, Weifang, with a displacement of 4,000 tonnes, mainly shoulders the responsibility of cooperative air defence, sea patrols and ocean convoys.

Indian ship INS Shivalik visited China's Qingdao port last month to take part in the 65th anniversary celebrations of the Chinese navy.

Shivalik, along with three other Indian ships, visited Shanghai last year on a goodwill tour.