Three Chinese navy ships are expected to visit Pearl Harbor from Sunday through Thursday at the tail end of an around-the-world deployment — despite ongoing disagreements between the two nations in the South China Sea.
The destroyer Jinan, frigate Yiyang and oiler Qiandaohu are scheduled to arrive Sunday morning, Navy Region Hawaii said.
“This routine port visit will give Chinese sailors an opportunity to interact with their U.S. counterparts and demonstrate parity and reciprocity between two maritime nations,” the command said.
The Navy said foreign navy ships come to Pearl Harbor regularly for port visits, with stops in recent months by the Chinese ship Zheng He, a ship from Bangladesh, and port calls by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels.
The U.S. and Chinese navies have maintained ship visits and interaction while the two countries have sparred verbally over China’s buildup of artificial islands in the South China Sea, which the United States says is for military purposes and could be used to restrict vital worldwide shipping through the region.
On Monday, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen announced the inaugural deployment of a Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance and sub-hunting aircraft to Singapore from Dec. 7 to Monday.
Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for China’s Foreign Ministry , said the deployment and “regional militarization” by the United States “goes against the common and long-term interests of countries in the region.”
As part of the military-to-military exchange between the two nations, the Jinan, Yiyang and Qiandaohu will be hosted by the destroyers USS Preble and USS Chung-Hoon and cruiser USS Chosin in an effort “to build confidence and mutual understanding,” the Navy said.
The Chinese navy ships deployed around the world to show China’s expanding global capability. The flotilla also made China’s first naval visit to the East Coast in November, visiting Naval Station Mayport in Florida and conducting a passing exercise with U.S. Navy ships.
