VLADIVOSTOK, August 7 (RIA Novosti, Anatoli Ilyukhov) - A ship squad of Russia's Pacific Fleet has set sail to the Yellow Sea, where a joint Russian-Chinese counter-terrorism exercise is due to take place August 23 through 25, the Pacific Fleet HQ reported Sunday.
The squad, comprised of an anti-submarine vessel, a torpedo destroyer and an amphibious landing ship, will take part in the Peace Mission 2005 exercise, off China's Shandong Peninsula, to improve coordination in operations against terrorism and piracy at sea, a spokesperson for the Russian Pacific Fleet said.
The exercise will bring together a total 10,000 sailors, including 1,800 members of the Russian Navy, as well as 17 long-range aircraft, fighter jets, cargo planes, and a marine company, the source announced. He also said that it will be preceded by consultations between the heads of the Russian and the Chinese general staffs, who are scheduled to meet August 17 and 18 in Vladivostok, on Russia's Pacific Coast.
