China and Cambodia have started their maiden naval drills in the Cambodian waters. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense in a statement said that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Command participated in the naval exercises known as China-Cambodia Golden Dragon 2023 with its Cambodian counterpart.

According to the Global Times, a Type 071 comprehensive landing ship of the Chinese PLA Navy carrying Chinese troops conducted its first-ever exercise with Cambodian vessels. 

In a press release by the PLA Southern Theater Command, the Type 071 ship Jinggangshan arrived in Cambodian waters and conducted an exercise over coordinated navigation and communications after traveling 100 hours across 1,300 nautical miles. 

The Jinggangshan made communication with two Royal Cambodian Navy patrol boats during the drill and established contact before practicing coordinated navigation in various formations. 

"In the two-hour navigation and communication exercise with the Cambodian navy, our organization and command were precise, coordination was close, and communications were smooth," said Captain Xu Jinfeng, the commanding officer of the Jinggangshan, as reported by China Central Television (CCTV). 

As part of the joint naval drill exercise, Golden Dragon-2023, the Jinggangshan was carrying soldiers from the Chinese Army, Navy, and Joint Logistic Support Force. On Wednesday, the ship departed from Zhanjiang in the Guangdong Province of South China.

According to a Beijing-based military expert who spoke to the Global Times on Sunday under the condition of anonymity, the joint naval exercise that took place prior to the formal start of the Golden Dragon-2023 joint exercises demonstrated a high level of comprehensive military exchange and cooperation between China and Cambodia. 

The expert predicted that similar naval encounters would occur more frequently in the future.

The fifth joint military drill between China and Cambodia, Golden Dragon-2023, will take place from March 20 to April 8 at a training facility in Cambodia. 

Notably, the Golden Dragon-2023 joint exercise is the fifth in a series of yearly routine military cooperation activities between the two armies, according to a statement from the PLA.

Image courtesy: Representative image/Reuters