A red paper dragon was among the colourful paraphernalia carried by a welcoming party at Pinto Wharf yesterday as a Chinese naval task force sailed into the Grand Harbour for the first time.
Made up of two frigates and a replenishment ship, the task force spent the past four months in the Gulf of Aden on an independent anti-piracy mission.
This involved providing civilian and commercial vessels with security escorts upon request, the Chinese Ambassador to Malta, Cai Jinbiao, said.
The flotilla and its 787 crew are here at the invitation of the Armed Forces of Malta.
Flagship frigate Huangshan was the first to dock at 10am, followed by fellow frigate Hengyang and, finally, by Qinghaihu.
Members of the Chinese community in Malta waved banners and national flags to herald their arrival. They were joined by Maltese primary schoolchildren and other well-wishers invited by the Malta-China Friendship Association.
AFM personnel formed a guard of honour that was inspected by their commander, Brigadier Martin Xuereb, and Rear Admiral Li Xiaoyan, Deputy Chief of Staff of China’s South Sea Fleet.
As he shook hands with gathered dignitaries, Rear Admiral Li jokingly informed Valletta mayor Alexiei Dingli that all his men would be under the mayor’s command during their stay.
He later told the press that hoped the visit would further strengthen the mutual understanding and cooperation between the Chinese Navy and the AFM.
The task force is expected to leave at 4pm on Saturday.
Selected officers from the AFM will take part in an anti-piracy seminar onboard one of the ships and Chinese personnel plan to give a demonstration of their famous self-defence skills.
There will also be time for some sightseeing, with Chinese sailors visiting Mdina, Gozo and the Maritime Museum in Vittoriosa, among other popular tourist spots.
The ships will be open for the public at Pinto Wharf today from 9am until noon and tomorrow from 2pm to 5pm.
“This is a goodwill visit and we hope the people will reciprocate,” Mr Cai said.
China first sent a naval task force on an anti-piracy mission to the Gulf of Aden in 2008 in response to escalating attacks on merchant vessels from pirates along the Somali coast. “Other countries sent their navies in response to the attacks and we felt we should also have a presence there,” Mr Cai said.
That was the first active deployment of China’s navy beyond the Pacific.
The flotilla that arrived yesterday was the 13th to have operated in the Gulf of Aden since 2008. It has now been relieved by a new force.
From Malta, the units will proceed to visit Algeria, Morocco, Portugal and France before returning home.
China’s burgeoning navy is now the world’s second largest in terms of the number of vessels.
Its rapidly developing capacity to project power has raised some eyebrows in the West and among near neighbours, with which it has several historical disputes over territory in the South China Sea.
Asked about this, Mr Cai insisted the world had nothing to fear from Chinese military or naval power.
“This is a friendly visit to improve the very good relations between our countries. The ships arriving today have been doing very good work protecting innocent people and chasing off potential pirates,” he said.
Brig. Xuereb expressed similar sentiments, praising the Chinese navy’s anti-piracy role in the Gulf of Aden, adding: “I judge China’s contribution to world peace and stability very favourably.”