Philippines bridges troubled South China Sea waters by sending first ship to join PLA Navy fleet review
2019-01-23 09:51:02 source：South China Morning Post
January 23, 2019
The Philippine Navy said it would, for the first time, send a vessel to a fleet review hosted by the PLA Navy as tensions between rival claimants to territory in the South China Sea eased.
Philippine Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad was quoted by the news portal the Inquirer as saying that plans to send a ship to China for an event that marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Chinese navy were in hand.
The Philippines – which successfully challenged Beijing’s territorial assertiveness in the South China Sea in a landmark arbitration ruling in 2016 – would be responsible for a first if it joined the fleet review which is scheduled for the coastal city of Qingdao, eastern Shandong province, on April 23.
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