Chinese Navy Commander meets Pakistani counterpart

Admiral Wu Shengli, commander of the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLAN), met with Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah, chief of naval staff of Pakistan, in Beijing on the afternoon of March 25.

Wu Shengli said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners. The navies of China and Pakistan have been always maintaining close contacts and keeping pragmatic cooperation in fields including exchange of visits, joint exercises, personnel training and anti-terrorism, said Wu, adding that since 2007, the PLAN has participated in the "Peace" series multinational joint maritime exercises sponsored by the Pakistani navy for four times.

He hoped that the two navies can strengthen exchange and cooperation in fields including anti-terrorism, anti-piracy, disposal of dangerous goods, search and rescue, and humanitarian rescue and disaster reduction, so as to upgrade the joint operation capabilities of the two navies to the maximum extent.

Wu Shengli also urged the two navies to keep the frequency of exchange of warship visits, while carrying out pragmatic and in-depth interactions at various levels in broader fields.

As for the personnel training, the PLAN Commander expected the two navies to hold more exchange activities between naval colleges and young officers such as dispatching midshipmen to each other's naval colleges for on-campus training and having exchange of visits paid by young officers during the navigation.

The PLAN also hopes to expand cooperation with the Pakistan Navy in the equipment technologies, Adm. Wu told his Pakistani counterpart.

Muhammad Zakaullah said that he has had deeper understanding of the PLAN through the China visit and hoped that the pragmatic cooperative relations between the two navies will constantly go up to new levels.

Muhammad Zakaullah and his entourage will visit the Naval Engineering University and the East China Sea Fleet of the PLAN, according to sources.