BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Jun 8 (NNN-XINHUA) – The Chinese naval training ship, Qi Jiguang (Hull 83), which is on a cadet training and visit mission in the far east, departed for the Philippines today, after successfully concluding its goodwill visit to Brunei.
The Bruneian side held a grand farewell ceremony at the Muara Port. More than 200 people, including Chinese Ambassador to Brunei, Xiao Jianguo, defence attache, Dai Qilin, representatives of Chinese companies, local Bruneians, and representatives of the Royal Brunei Navy, went to the port to see off the ship.
After leaving the port, the ship held joint sailing exercises with the Royal Brunei Navy offshore patrol vessel, KDB Darussalam, after arriving at the designated sea area.
During their visit to Brunei, the representatives of the Chinese navy carried out courtesy calls, professional exchanges, beach environmental protection activities and cultural and sports interactions, with officers and soldiers of the Royal Brunei Navy.
When visiting Brunei’s naval training centre, the Chinese navy cadets also held in-depth exchanges on naval personnel training with their Bruneian counterparts.
During its stay, the ship also held an on-deck reception, attended by about 200 people, including officials from the Brunei government, armed forces, members of the diplomatic corps, and representatives from local Chinese communities and Chinese enterprises in Brunei.
The ship organised five open-day activities for the public, attracting more than 1,000 visitors. Princess Hajah Masna, Ambassador-at-Large at Brunei’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and her spouse were among the visitors.
Accompanied by Chinese Ambassador, Xiao Jianguo, and defence attache, Dai Qilin, the princess inspected the guard of honour on the ship.
“China and Brunei are close neighbours across the sea, mutually trusted friends and partners with common development goals. I hope both sides can continue to deepen cooperation in the future,” she said during her visit.
Named after Qi Jiguang, a national hero of the Chinese Ming Dynasty, the ship was commissioned in Feb, 2017, as the largest and most modern Chinese homegrown professional training ship. This is the second visit to Brunei by the naval training ship.– NNN-XINHUA
