Chinese navy fleet departs for joint disaster relief drill

QINGDAO -- A Chinese navy flotilla, comprising missile frigate Weifang and rescue vessel Changxingdao, left port in Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province on Saturday for blue water training and a multilateral disaster relief exercise in Indonesia.

The drill is sponsored by the Indonesian Navy with 48 vessels, eight helicopters and four fixed-wing aircraft from 16 countries, including China, the United States, Russia and France participating.

The exercise, which will be held from April 12 to 15, is divided into three stages: port-and-shore activities, maritime drills, and engineering and rescue ashore, said Wang Xianfeng, commander of the Chinese force.