The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Fleet 152 arrived in Jakarta Sunday, beginning a five-day visit in its final stop on its world tour.
As was reported previously in The Diplomat, Fleet 152 – which comprises three vessels: the Type 052C Luyang II-class guided missile destroyer Jinan (152), the flagship vessel; the Type 054A Jiangkai II-class guided-missile frigate Yiyang (548); and the Type 903 Fuchi-class replenishment ship Qiandao Hu (886) – has been on a “round-the-globe” voyage since last year. After wrapping up its four-month anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden, Fleet 152, which also carries two ship-borne helicopters and 64 special forces members, made several stops including in Sudan, Egypt, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the United States in 2015.
On Sunday in Indonesia, Fleet 152 was greeted by a welcome ceremony of some 300 people at Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, which included Chinese ambassador to Indonesia Xie Feng, Chinese ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Xu Bu, and the deputy commander of the Main Naval Base III of Indonesia’s navy, Eko Wahyono. Representatives of various Chinese institutions also attended the event, which featured several activities including traditional dances by local residents.
According to Xinhua, in a speech at the ceremony, Eko described the visit as a great event for Indonesia as it would boost the friendship between the two navies.
As with most port visits of this ilk, various activities are planned for the fleet during its brief stay in Jakarta which will end on January 28. Xinhua reports that officers and soldiers will visit a local orphanage, while the fleet’s commander Wang Jianxun will meet with Indonesia’s western fleet commander and Jakarta’s governor.
Since Jakarta is Fleet 152’s last stop, it is scheduled to return back to China following the Indonesian voyage. It had initially set off from Zhoushan naval base in Zhejiang province for anti-piracy operations on April 3 last year.