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24309
“PLA Navy Enters Persian Gulf As U.S. Bombs Islamic State”
by Want China Times   
September 25th, 2014
The Changchun, front, and the Changzhou at Bandar Abbas. (Internet photo)
The Changchun, front, and the Changzhou at Bandar Abbas. (Internet photo)

While the United States launched air strikes against the Islamic State in Syria with F-22 stealth fighters, a destroyer and a frigate belonging to the People's Liberation Army Navy entered the Persian Gulf to conduct joint naval exercises with Iran, according to our sister paper Want Daily.

The US airstrikes on Sept. 23 carried out with support from Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, primarily targeted an Islamic State stronghold in Raqqa in what the paper said was the first time F-22 Raptors have been seen in action against a terror organization.

Changchun, a Type 052C guided-missile destroyer, and Changzhou, a Type 054A guided-missile frigate from the East Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy, arrived at Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on their way to the Gulf of Aden. The warships plan to stay in Iran from Sept. 20-25. The joint exercises were launched by the PLA Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy on Wednesday.

The visit of two Chinese warships to the Iranian port is not an important event in itself; however, this is the first time that the People's Republic of China has conducted joint exercises with Iran.

China needs Iran's cooperation to penetrate a US maritime blockade if and when it is deployed, according to the Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid under the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily. The paper said that China must make sure that the Strait of Hormuz is not under US or Western control.

China is aware that the strait accounts for roughly 40% of all globally traded oil, and therefore Iran is an extremely important partner for China.

Huang Dong, a military analyst from Macau, said China is not provoking the United States but sending its warships to the Persian Gulf to let Washington know that the PLA Navy has the capability to defend the Strait of Hormuz and the Indian Ocean, both considered Beijing's new lifelines.

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