Taskforce 153, China's PLA Navy fleet attending the RIMPAC 2016 multilateral naval exercises, arrived at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on June 29. It is the second time China has participated in the RIMPAC folllowing its debut in 2014.

The Chinese fleet is made up of five ships: the missile destroyer Xi'an; missile frigate Hengshui; supply ship Gaoyouhu; hospital ship Peace Ark; submarine rescue vessel Changdao; and three helicopters, a marine squad and a diving squad, including 1,200 officers and soldiers. The crew size is smaller only than those of the US and Canada.

A total of 26 nations, 45 ships, five submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC 2016 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California.

This year is the 25th of exercises in the series, which began in 1971. Denmark, Germany and Italy are participating for the first time, while Brazil dropped out in the last minute.

During the RIMPAC 2016, which runs from June 30 to Aug 4, the PLA Navy fleet will take part in drills including gunfire, damage control and rescue, anti-piracy, search and rescue, and diving and submarine rescue.

Sports, deck reception and open ship activities and other exchanges have been scheduled for before the ships leave Pearl Harbor next week for drills on the ocean.

According to the schedule, the missile destroyer Xi'an and hospital ship Peace Ark will receive visitors on Friday in open ship day activity before they leave Pearl Harbor on July 12 to exercise on the seas.

The Taskforce 153 members left Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province on June 15. They were joined in the west Pacific on June 18 by the USS Stockdale and USS William P Lawrence in the so-called "group sail" to Hawaii.

China and the United States have stepped up their military exchanges in the last few years, with high-level visits, port calls and multilateral drills mostly in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and counter piracy.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 07/08/2016 page12)