An Australian naval frigate arrived in Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province, on Sunday morning for a joint search-and-rescue exercise with the guided missile destroyer Harbin of the North China Sea Fleet. The exercise will be held on October 14.

Rear Admiral Rowan Moffitt, maritime commander of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), will be present at the drill.

This is the first joint nontraditional security exercise between the People’s Liberation Army Navy and RAN.

The 118-meter Australian vessel, with a crew of 191 aboard, will stay in the port city for five days and hold a series of culture and sports activities.

The Anzac, named for the famed World War I Australia and New Zealand Army Corps, is an ANZAC-class frigate. These long-range escort ships perform a variety of roles, including air defense, antisubmarine warfare, surveillance, reconnaissance and interdiction. The ships are capable of countering simultaneous threats from the air, surface and sub-surface.

(China.org.cn, Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2004)