Chinese warship arrives in St. Petersburg for Russian naval celebrations

A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy warship recently arrived in St. Petersburg, Russia to participate in Russia's upcoming Navy Day celebrations, with analysts highlighting recent China-Russia military exchanges and stressing the PLA Navy's far seas capabilities while refuting U.S. media hype.

The Type 052D guided missile destroyer Jiaozuo, part of the PLA Navy's 46th escort task group, on Monday arrived in St. Petersburg and sailed along the Neva River on Tuesday in a welcome ceremony hosted by a Russian military band, with Russian military representatives and local people greeting the Chinese warship at the dock, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Wednesday.

The Jiaozuo is scheduled to remain in St. Petersburg for about a week and is open to the Russian public for visit, CCTV reported. Before joining a naval parade on Sunday, the PLA Navy destroyer will participate in a rehearsal on Thursday.

This is not the first time the PLA Navy has sent a warship to participate in Russia's Navy Day celebrations in St. Petersburg.

In 2019, the PLA Navy's Type 052C guided missile destroyer Xi'an was a part of that year's event, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Compared to five years ago, this year China has sent a more advanced type of warship to Russia, reflecting the development of the PLA Navy as well as China-Russia military ties, observers said.

China and Russia just wrapped up a joint naval patrol that stretched from northern Pacific waters to the South China Sea and a joint naval exercise in waters off China's southern coast, which also featured China's Type 052D destroyers.

Just as Western media groundlessly hyped the China-Russia joint naval patrol and exercise as "confronting NATO," a Newsweek report on Saturday claimed Chinese Navy ships had sailed into the "NATO lake," referring to the Jiaozuo's voyage through the Baltic Sea on its way to St. Petersburg.

The Jiaozuo, together with the Type 903A replenishment ship Honghu, also part of the PLA Navy's 46th escort task group, entered the Baltic Sea on Saturday and steamed toward St. Petersburg, Newsweek reported, hyping that the Chinese warships would "spend the next hours sailing past NATO's sea borders."

Such hype is a typical double standard and more of "China threat" rhetoric when U.S. warships frequently sail in the South China Sea, make transits through the Taiwan Straits and conduct targeted exercises against China, a Beijing-based military expert told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The sailing of the Chinese warships conforms to the international law and practices, and if U.S. media truly believe they are a threat, U.S. warships are a much bigger threat to China, the expert said.

China and Russia have recently had frequent military interactions. The two countries oppose hegemony, and their military cooperation is conducive to peace and stability amid the deteriorating global and regional security situations, analysts said.