Egyptian port Alexandria is hosting elements of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) 46th naval escort task force.
What is reported as a five-day friendly visit started on Thursday last week when guided missile destroyer Jiaozuo and comprehensive replenishment vessel Honghu arrived at the Mediterranean Sea port. Alexandra, Egypt’s second largest city, is home to the headquarters of the Egyptian Navy and its main base.
The visit is the fourth by PLAN assets to Egypt since 2002.
Elsewhere it was reported the 46th naval task force performed escort duties as per its description in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean waters off Somalia, also patrolled and policed by a European Union (EU) task force – Operation Atalanta – since 2009.
This deployment was the first for the 46th naval task force since departing Zhanjiang in Guangdong Province on 21 February. It is reported as starting independent operations in March after separating from the 45th PLAN naval escort task force.
Ahead of the Alexandria port call, the Chinese warships ported in Casablanca, Morocco, for five days of replenishment, rest and a technical stop.
South Africa, in the form of the port of Cape Town, last year hosted four PLAN warships from the Far Eastern country’s 43rd escort task force.
