The Chinese naval vessels Yinchuan, Jinggangshan and Jingmen, scheduled to participate in the joint military exercise with Malaysia, set off from China's Sanya City, Zhanjiang City and Hong Kong respectively and headed for Malaysia on Wednesday.
Chinese and Malaysian armed forces will conduct a joint drill in Malaysia and its adjacent waters in mid-to-late October, according to a statement released by the Chinese Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday.
Code-named "Peace and Friendship 2025," the drill will focus on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, as well as maritime security, said the statement.
Over 1,000 Chinese and Malaysian troops will participate in the event. The live joint exercise will involve multi-service forces from the Chinese and Malaysian militaries. Other ASEAN member states have been invited to send observers.
Before setting out, the Chinese troops underwent intensive training, preparing for a successful completion of the mission.
This will be the sixth joint exercise program of the "Peace and Friendship" series. It aims to deepen practical cooperation between the military forces of China and Southeast Asian countries, enhancing their capability to address non-traditional security threats and safeguard regional peace and stability.
Yinchuan (hull 175) is a Type 052D guided-missile destroyer independently designed and built by China, with a total length of over 150 meters, a width of over 20 meters, and a displacement of nearly 7,000 tons. The vessel was commissioned in 2016 and has successively carried out a number of major training and exercise tasks, including escorting in the Gulf of Aden, visiting Hong Kong, participating in joint exercises with Pakistan, and conducting long-range combat readiness patrols.
Jinggangshan (hull 999) is a Type 071 amphibious dock landing ship that was commissioned on November 28, 2011. The ship is 210 meters in total length, 28 meters in width, and has a displacement of over 19,000 tons. Since its commissioning, it has carried out a number of major training and exercise tasks, including escorting in the Gulf of Aden and participating in the joint drill with Cambodia.
Jingmen (hull 667) is a Type 056A frigate that was commissioned in January 2016. The frigate is 90 meters in total length, 12 meters in width and has a displacement of over 1,400 tons.
Chinese naval vessels set sail for joint drill with Malaysia
Voting for the election of the eighth-term Legislative Council (LegCo) of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) concluded on Sunday night.
Voting for the election began at 07:30 a.m. local time on Sunday. More than 600 polling stations were opened across Hong Kong, serving approximately 4.13 million registered voters.
Long queues had already formed outside multiple polling stations across Hong Kong before the polls opened. At polling station entrances, staff and volunteers attentively assisted voters with the procedures. Some voters posed for a photo holding a thank-you card given by staff after casting their ballot.
"As a Hong Kong citizen, I think it's my responsibility to vote, and I don't want to give up my rights. That's why I come here to support," a voter said.
"We actually flew in from Thailand. Learning today is a special day to vote, we actually canceled all our appointments and canceled everything, and we flew in with the whole family just to be part of Hong Kong and to vote, and to cast our vote and be part of the community," said another voter.
HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee cast his ballot at around 08:30 a.m. at Raimondi College on Robinson Road. He said that the LegCo election is of great importance to Hong Kong's overall development and future reforms, and it also represents the expectations of Hong Kong society.
A number of voters said they look forward to the new term of the Legislative Council taking greater responsibility in advancing Hong Kong's economy, society, and public welfare.
"I think an area of focus I'd like to see is, one is the economy, and secondly is youth mobility and youth policies. I think youth are the future, and it's very important to get unity within the youth and also give us hope, right? The youth in general -- what can we do to, for us as youth, to partake in civil society and to show our responsibility, but also from the government, like, what kind of policy that can help us do that as well," said a young voter.
"I hope that there will be more fair education in the sense that even people from the poor family, they can actually receive good education in good schools," another voter said.
The new term of LegCo will be composed of 90 members, including 40 elected by the Election Committee, 30 elected by functional constituencies, and 20 elected by geographical constituencies through direct elections. The name list of the 40 members returned by the Election Committee has been unveiled.
The eighth-term LegCo of the HKSAR will commence its four-year term on Jan 1, 2026.
Voting for 8th-term HKSAR LegCo election concludes
Voting for 8th-term HKSAR LegCo election concludes
