Cambodia conducts maritime exercise with China Navy to strengthen ties between the two countries.

According to information published by the Chinese MoD on March 20, 2023, the PLA Navy's amphibious dock landing ship Jinggangshan, which was on duty to deliver the Chinese participating troops for the China-Cambodia joint exercise Golden Dragon-2023, together with two patrol crafts from the Royal Cambodian Navy, conducted a coordinated navigation and communication drill in the waters of Cambodia.
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Chinese Type 071 amphibious transport dock Jinggang Shan. (Picture source: Freshnews)

At around 7:00 am, the ship Jinggangshan, which just arrived in the Cambodian waters after nearly 100-hour sailing for about 1300 nautical miles, met with two patrol crafts of the Cambodian Royal Navy.

Then, with the ship Jinggangshan as the datum ship, the three ships cooperated with each other and completed, in succession, the formation training at the predetermined course and speed, as well as the communication drill while maneuvering towards the designated sea area.

At around 8:20 am, the maritime coordination drill successfully concluded with the separation of the Chinese ship Jinggangshan and the Cambodian patrol crafts. Subsequently, the ship Jinggangshan docked at the Sihanoukville Port in Cambodia.

It is reported that this is the first maritime training exercise between the Chinese and Cambodian militaries. Both sides had conducted multiple consultations on the plan of training courses earlier, laying a good foundation for the successful completion of the exercise.

About the Jinggang shan

The Type 071 amphibious transport dock is a class of Chinese naval vessel designed for amphibious warfare missions. She has a displacement of 25,000 tons and is 210 meters in length with a beam of 28 meters.

The ship's draught is 7 meters, and she is powered by four SEMT Pielstick 16 PC2.6 V400 diesel engines, generating 472,000 horsepower, which drives two shafts.

The Type 071 can achieve a maximum speed of 25 knots (46 km/h) and has a range of 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).

She carries four air-cushioned landing craft and two landing craft on port/starboard davits, capable of carrying 15-20 armored vehicles, and up to 500-800 troops. The ship's crew consists of 120 personnel.

Type 071 is equipped with various sensors and processing systems, including a Type 360 Radar Seagull S, E/F-band surface search radar, a Type 364 Radar, Seagull C, G-band air search radar aft, a Type 344 Radar, I band fire control radar, and a navigational radar. The ship is also fitted with UAT Electronic Support Measures for electronic warfare and decoys.

In terms of armament, Type 071 carries one AK-176 76 mm (3.0 in) gun, four AK-630 30 mm (1.2 in) CIWS, and four 18-tube Type 726-4 decoy/chaff launchers. It also has the potential to install 2-4 heavy machine guns (fitted for but not with). The Type 071 can carry 2-4 Z-8 Super Frelon helicopters.