The French frigate "Prairial" left for South Korea on Saturday after a five-day port call at Hong Kong.

Alexis Latty, captain of the frigate, said in a media briefing before the frigate's leaving, that during the five-day port call at Hong Kong, the officers of the frigate paid official calls to the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Garrison Troops in Hong Kong and the Office of the Commissioner of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong and some other related French organizations in Hong Kong.

He said he hopes that the frigate has an opportunity to pay exclusive visits to Hong Kong and some other port cities of the Chinese mainland in the future, in a bid to better understand each other and strengthen the friendship between France and China.

Latty especially expects a chance to play another football game with the navy of the PLA Garrison Troops in Hong Kong and win the game. This time, his football team lost the game by 1:2.

The frigate, which arrived at Hong Kong from Australia Tuesday, is to surveil the French exclusive economic zone and international waters in order to fight illegal activities such as drug smuggling or illegal fishing, said Lieutenant-Commander Jean-Fernand Perenne, who works at the French embassy in Beijing and is now here to organize the port visit.

Latty said the ship would leave for South Korea and Japan Saturday to continue its mission in Asia.

Source: Xinhua