Chinanews, Qingdao, Apr. 13 – An Indian naval¹ fleet arrived in Qingdao on Thursday to start a five-day visit to the city. When the visit concludes, Chinese and Indian navies will conduct a joint² military drill at the outer coastal³ areas near Qingdao. The main contents of the drill will be testing telecommunication⁴ capability⁵ and the buildup of the naval vessels⁷ format⁸.

This is the first time that Indian Navy visits China in a naval vessel⁶ format. The Indian fleet consists of some guided missile destroyers, including INS RANA and INS RANJIT. There are 61 officers and 778 soldiers on board the ships.

At 9 o'clock in the morning, guided by the Chinese guided missile destroyer, Qingdao, the Indian fleet berthed⁹ at a military port, which was already decorated with colorful streamers. Chinese soldiers played martial¹⁰ music and the two sides fired a 21-gun salute¹¹ to mark the occasion. Two children presented a bunch of flowers to the visiting Indian naval officers. Chinese North Sea Fleet, officers from the Qingdao municipal government, officials from the Qingdao garrison¹² command, and 100 Chinese naval soldiers welcomed Indian officers and soldiers at the pier¹³.

Deputy Chief of Staff of the North Sea Fleet Guo Shouqian, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Indian fleet, and Indian ambassador to China each delivered a speech on the welcoming ceremony. Then the Indian senior officer paid a visit to General Su Zhiliang and they exchanged gifts.