The Gulf of Thailand and the Sattahip district of Chon Buri will function the training grounds for the Blue Strike-2023 joint naval exercise, involving China and Thailand. Participation from Chinese warships and submarines has been confirmed for this annual drill.
The train, which is ready to extend from tomorrow to September 10, will take place within the upper reaches of the Gulf of Thailand and on the Phra Maha Chetsadachao Camp of the Marine Division in Sattahip, as disclosed by a navy source. The major objectives of the Blue Strike train are to share naval experience, put together for potential humanitarian assistance and disaster reduction conditions, perform naval operations, and foster military relations.
The Chinese ships docked at the training web site on Thursday, ready for the upcoming Blue Strike exercises.
A welcoming ceremony occurred yesterday on the Royal Thai Fleet HQ, the place navy chief, Choengchai Chomchoengpaet, Chinese envoy, Han Zhiqiang, and Royal Thai Fleet commander, Adung Phan-iam greeted Chen Weidong, deputy chief of the Chinese Marine Corps. Results welcomed Peng Peng, the chief of a squad of Chinese navy trainees, and different senior Chinese officers.
A Chinese naval process drive shall be engaged within the Blue Strike drills, bringing with them their Changcheng submarine, Siming Shan amphibious dock landing ship, Anyang guided-missile frigate, and Chaohu complete supply ship.
The Blue Strike coaching encompassing land and sea will focus on sniping tactics, jungle survival, and maritime search and rescue. Additionally, periods on chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear defence will be performed.
The ultimate goal of those Blue Strike workout routines is to bolster practical cooperation between the 2 navies and improve their joint capabilities to sort out regional safety threats, as per the navy supply.
In other news, Choengchai disclosed that he had approved the substitution of a German-made engine with the Chinese-made CHD620 engine for an S26T Yuan-class submarine presently being assembled in China by the China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Co.
Furthermore, he revealed that the navy plans to allocate up to 200 million baht to recuperate the sunken HTMS Sukhothai in Prachuap Khiri Khan. With a hundred and ten million baht to be set aside from its price range, the navy will seek a further ninety million baht from the Budget Bureau to execute the mission, reports Bangkok Post..