Two Chinese naval vessels arrived in the southern British port city of Portsmouth on Thursday for a four-day good-will visit.

 

This is the second time Chinese warships have visited Britain since September 2001, and it is the second leg of their 87-day voyage that has already taken them to St. Petersburg, Russia, and will also take them to Spain and France.

 

The guided missile destroyer Guangzhou and the supply ship Weishanhu are under the Command of Major General Su Zhiqian, deputy commander of the South China Sea Fleet of the Chinese Navy.

 

The British Ministry of Defense said in a statement that personnel from China's naval ships will tour the Maritime Warfare Training Establishment at HMS Collingwood, Fareham during their visit.

 

Major General Su, along with other senior Chinese officers, will be given VIP tours of the historic warships HMS Victory and Warrior, and the Portsmouth-based aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, with which the visiting ships will conduct an on-passage exercise when they leave the following Monday.

 

Some of the visiting sailors will have a football match at HMS Temeraire against an HMS Illustrious team. In addition, a 30-strong band from the Chinese ships will give two concerts in the HMS Victory arena over the weekend.

 

The two ships, which will travel more than 23,000 nautical miles in 87 days, are also expected to launch a joint search and rescue exercise with navies of Britain, Spain and France.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2007)