China: delivery of a new frigate for the Navy

The first Chinese stealth frigate type 056 was delivered Monday afternoon to the Navy of People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China in Shanghai.

This new generation frigate will soon be commissioning large-scale navigation and requires only a third of the crew of the previous model of type 053, according to a report published Tuesday in the journal of the PLA.

The new frigate should be primarily deployed for escort missions and operations anti-submarine, the report said.

According to the newspaper, delivery of the frigate marked the beginning of the systematic modernization of the Chinese Navy equipment.

The new frigate will strengthen the ability of naval forces to protect national security, territorial integrity, sovereignty and maritime interests. F