'Maritime Joint Exercise 2013' enters stage of actual-troop exercise

（China Military Online）  09:50, July 09, 2013  

VLADIVOSTOK, July 8 (ChinaMil) -- After three-day-long careful and detailed planning, all the preparations for the China-Russia maritime joint exercise code-named "Maritime Joint Exercise 2013" were completed on the night of July 7, 2013, and the joint exercise will enter the stage of actual-troop exercise on July 8, according to Ding Yiping, exercise chief director of the Chinese side and deputy commander of the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLAN).

Since the joint exercise was launched on July 5, the two sides have set the subject "Joint Maritime Defense Operations" centering on the exercise, and carried out multi-level close coordination in tactical thinking and use of force.

During the joint exercise, the two sides set up a three-tier command system, namely, the Joint Directing Department, the Joint Command Department and the Naval Fleet Command Post, all in the form of mixed grouping.

According to Duan Zhaoxian, exercise executive director of the Chinese side and deputy chief of staff of the PLAN, the Joint Directing Department has docked all the exercise documents, the command information system works properly, the exercise site is ready, the participating troops detailed and revised the plans, debugged and corrected the system of weaponry and equipment, all satisfying the requirements of directing, adjusting and controlling the exercise.

"We linked up the combat mission assigned by higher authorities and the determination of the taskforce with the plans of the warship, and detailed tactical plots and technical links, so as to ensure the success of the exercise," said Xu Fang, captain of the participating guided missile destroyer "Shijiazhuang".

During the stage of actual-troop exercise, the participating troops of the two sides will conduct the exercise on many subjects, such as anchorage defense, joint air-defense, joint escort, maritime supply, breaking through areas with submarine threat and shooting the targets on the sea and in the air with actual weaponry. Besides, the two sides will hold maritime parade on July 10.