ZHANJIANG, June 26 (ChinaMil) -- The Vietnamese naval taskforce consisting of the "Ly Thai To" and "Dinh Tien Hoang" guided missile frigates along with 200 officers and men led by Senior Captain Nguyen Duc Nho, deputy chief of staff of the Vietnamese Navy, arrived at the military port of Zhanjiang in south China's Guangdong province at 09:30 on June 25, 2013 for a four-day-long goodwill visit. Zhang Chuanshu, deputy chief of staff of the South China Sea Fleet of the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLAN), Nguyen Van Tho, Vietnamese ambassador to China, and others were at the port to welcome the arriving Vietnamese naval taskforce.
During the visit in Zhanjiang, the officers and men of the PLAN and the Vietnamese Navy will visit each other's ships and hold a friendly soccer match. The personnel of the Vietnamese Navy will also visit the city and tourist attractions of Zhanjiang.
It is reported that the Vietnamese naval taskforce had joined with the "Hengyang" guided missile frigate and the "Huangshan" guided missile frigate of the PLAN to complete the 15th China-Vietnam Beibu Gulf joint patrol mission prior to the visit.
Both the "Ly Thai To" guided missile frigate with the designated hull number of HQ012 and the "Dinh Tien Hoang" guided missile frigate with the designated hull number of HQ011 belong to the "Gepard"-class guided missile frigates of the Vietnamese Navy, with a full-load displacement of 2,090 tons, length of 102 meters, width of 13.6 meters and a draft of 4.7 meters respectively. Built by Russia and entered into service in 2011, the two frigates are currently the most advanced warships of the Vietnamese Navy.
