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| Type 054A Frigate same type as the Yantai (Wiki Info) |
By DAN DE LUCE
QINGDAO, China — U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had a rare first-hand look inside a Chinese naval base Sept. 20, as Washington pushes security dialogue with a country that could rival its power in the Pacific.
On the third day of his visit to China, Panetta flew to the eastern port of Qingdao, home to the headquarters of the Chinese navy’s northern fleet, becoming the first Pentagon chief to set foot inside the facility.
The Chinese navy’s latest warships and submarines are the subject of intense scrutiny by U.S. military strategists, defense analysts and American lawmakers, and there are concerns about Beijing’s growing military might.
But Chinese officers gave Panetta a close-up look at several vessels, a U.S. defense official said, including the frigate Yantai, which recently supported joint counter-piracy operations with the U.S. in the Gulf of Aden.
Read the full story at DefenseNews