Two Chinese warships have docked at Iran’s principal naval port for the first time in history, Iranian admirals told state television on Sunday, adding that both countries would conduct four days of joint naval exercises.
Xinhua news agency, reported that on Saturday, Chinese navy ships involved in protecting shipping in the Gulf of Aden stopped at an Iranian port for a “friendly visit.”
One of the vessels was the Changchun, a guided-missile destroyer, the report said.
Photo: AFP
The news agency posted images of one of the destroyers docking in the port of Bandar Abbas, where it was given a military welcome.
The Iranian and Chinese navies were yesterday scheduled to begin joint exercises focusing on rescue missions, Iranian news media reported. China has been expanding the areas where its navy operates, most recently joining the effort to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia.
The visit to the port of Bandar Abbas is an example of the growing ties between China and Iran. China is already the principal buyer of Iranian oil, and Iran uses much of the profit from those sales to buy Chinese products, deals complicated by the international sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program.
The official Web site of the Chinese navy reported that this was the first visit to Iran by its ships. The report did not mention any joint exercises.
A Chinese fleet commander, Rear Admiral Huang Xinjian (黃新建), said that the visit was intended to “deepen mutual understanding, and to enhance exchanges between our two countries’ navies.”
“I’m sure that this visit will encourage the constant advancement of friendly cooperation between our two countries’ navies,” Huang said.
His Iranian counterparts said there would be drills focused on safety at sea and fighting piracy.
“Discussing and studying the two countries’ naval relief and rescue operations and drills, confronting sea incidents and accidents and gaining the necessary technical preparedness are among the exercises to be practiced with the Chinese navy forces,” said Admiral Amir Hossein Azad, commander of Iran’s First Naval Zone.
The Iranian state newspaper Kayhan reported on Saturday that 650 Chinese sailors were onboard the Chinese warships and that they would also compete in “sport events” with Iranian sailors.
Iran’s main competitor in the Persian Gulf is the US Navy, which has a sprawling base in Bahrain and stations at least one aircraft carrier in the region. On several occasions, Iran has threatened to choke off the strategic Hormuz Strait, a narrow waterway between Iran and the United Arab Emirates that is a gateway for 40 percent of the world’s oil and gas shipments. The only other foreign state to have a naval base in the Persian Gulf is France, which uses a port in the United Arab Emirates.
The naval visit indicates that China fears that a deal over Iran’s nuclear program could lead to an improvement in relations between Iran and the West, said Saeed Laylaz, an Iranian economist who is close to the Iranian government.
“It shows most of all that the Chinese want to keep their lucrative business relations with Iran,” he said. “Not that they are ready to defend us.”
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