China's largest marine patrol departs for Russia for joint drill

China's largest marine patrol departed Thursday from Qingdao to Vladivostok, a coastal city in east Russia, participating in a multilateral joint drill.

The joint drill is to be held from Aug.22 to 27, with the theme of "enforcing emergency responses to illegal actions threatening joint marine security".

The North Pacific Coast Guard Agencies Forum (NPCGF) promoted the multilateral joint drill in 2009.

Current members of NPCGF, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States, participate in the drill.

"The joint drill mainly focuses on arms trafficking and illegal migration, including searching, boarding and examining suspicious ships," said Wu Shaojun, captain of Marine Patrol 11.

Chinese Marine Patrol 11, Marine Surveillance 83 and helicopters and ships from other countries will participate in the joint drill, said Wu.

Chinese Marine Surveillance 83 left for Russia on Aug.13 from Guangzhou, capital city of south China's Guangdong Province.

NPCGF, initiated by the Japan Coast Guard in 2000, is an organization devoted to fostering multilateral cooperation on illegal drug trafficking, maritime security, fisheries enforcement, illegal migration and heightened maritime awareness.

Member states take turns hosting the annual forum. China joined the forum in 2004.

The 3000-tonne Marine Patrol 11, China's largest patrol ship, is 114 meters long and equipped with high-speed rescue boats and a helicopter hangar. The helicopters can take off and land on Marine Patrol 11 even when waves reach 6 meters and wind speeds are as high as 11 to 14 meters per second.

Source: Xinhua