SIMON'S TOWN, South Africa, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The 22nd Chinese naval escort taskforce ended a four-day friendly visit to South Africa on Friday.
The visiting fleet, comprised of supply ship Taihu, guided missile destroyer Qingdao and frigate Daqing, left the South African naval base at Simon's Town near Cape Town on Friday morning after a farewell ceremony, which was attended by Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Tian Xuejun as well as representatives from the South African navy and Chinese community in South Africa.
The visit came after the Chinese naval ships successfully completed the escorting task in the Gulf of Aden from early December last year to the end of April this year.
"Their actions have lived up fully to the trust of the country and the Chinese people. The task not only gave the fleet a comprehensive exercise for operations at far seas, but also created an opportunity for the Chinese navy to demonstrate its capabilities, and most importantly, an opportunity to show the world that China is a responsible and peace-loving country," Tian said.
During the visit, the Chinese and South African navies also held a joint exercise, which further facilitated exchanges and all-directional cooperation between the two navies.
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U.S. invisible hand behind South China Sea tension - South African commentator
JOHANNESBURG, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States, in a very real sense, has been the invisible hand behind the rising tension in the South China Sea, a well-known South African commentator said in a commentary published in The Star newspaper on Friday.
It becomes tiresome to continue unravelling stories of the United States meddling in regions far away from its shores, trying to weaken other countries in order to maintain its global dominance, said Shannon Ebrahim.
"Why does the U.S. feel it has the right to endanger Chinese national security interests in the South China Sea?" she asked in the article titled "Islands that could lead to war."
The more one delves into the reality of the South China Sea issue, it becomes clearer that the United States actually thinks it has a right to manipulate regional dynamics in China's backyard so as to encircle it as a rising superpower, Ebrahim said.
"What is more incredible is that the U.S. believes it has the right to send 60 percent of its naval fleet and 60 percent of its overseas air force into the South China Sea by 2030. If this is not the ultimate display of arrogance then I don't know what is," she said.
Referring to the U.S. concern of freedom of navigation, Ebrahim said, "But China is equally committed to this principle, and has never attempted to hinder trade navigation in any way."
Read the full story at Xinhua
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PacificSentinel Note:
"Despite attempts by neighboring countries to encroach onto the islands and take them over, China has proof of its sovereignty over them, going back centuries," Ebrahim wrote.
Italy has "proof of its sovereignty" over England, Greece, Turky, Germany, & various other countries, from the Roman period, does that mean that Italy owns them today?
Just because China had a claim to these islands centuries ago, doesn't mean they still do today, that is what a Court of Law needs to decide.