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Chinese PLA Navy to celebrate founding anniversary

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-18 14:53

BEIJING - China's People's Liberation Army Navy will hold a grand celebration ceremony to mark its 60th founding anniversary, and 21 naval vessels from 14 countries and delegations from 29 countries will join the event, the country's National Defence Ministry said Saturday.

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The ceremony, lasting from April 20 to 23, will be at Shandong province's Qingdao city and off its coast. Its theme is Peaceful Ocean, calling for more intimate and harmonious oceanic safety cooperation between countries.

Many nation's senior military naval officials, including the Chief of Naval Operations of the United States, and the Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief, will attend.

Activities such as seminars, a fleet parade and a sampan race will also be held, to increase the mutual understanding and friendship between naval officials and soldiers, and to promote regional and world peace, stability and development.

The PLA Navy was founded on April 23, 1949, with nine warships and 17 boats obtained after a unit of the Kuomintang's second coastal defense fleet defected to the PLA.