MANILA — The Philippine Navy (PN) will formally welcome the BRP Dagupan City (LC-551) and the 200-man contingent aboard her at the Commodore Divino Pier, Naval Station Jose Andrada, Manila Thursday.
The ship and military personnel aboard her constitute the Naval Task Force 88, the PN contigent to the first-ever ASEAN-China Maritime Exercise held last Oct. 21 to 28 in Zhanjiang, China.
Commander Jonathan Zata, PN spokesperson, said welcoming ceremonies will start at 7:30 a.m..
ACMEX 2018 is an exercise hosted by the Republic of Singapore’s Navy and China’s Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
It aims to promote regional cooperation between ASEAN Navies and the PLAN. BRP Dagupan City and the 200-man contingent aboard her left Sangley Point, Cavite last Oct. 17, arriving in Zhiangjiang, China on the 20th.
The ship has a displacement of 4,265 tons at full load, is 273 feet long, has a draft of 12 feet and has a top speed of 12 knots.
It was commissioned to the PN service in the 1990s.
Earlier, Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said the proposal for a joint ASEAN and Chinese naval exercise was submitted during the ASEAN Defense Minister Meeting in Singapore last February. (Priam Nepomuceno/PNA)
