Stealth frigate delivered to Chinese navy

• Tweet

BEIJING, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The Chinese navy has taken delivery of a new generation of frigate called Type 056, which, the military said, has good stealth performance.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army Daily said the new generation of frigate will soon be put into service on a large scale.

The report said the new frigate requires only one-third the crew needed by its predecessor Type 053, and has "good stealth performance and electromagnetic compatibility."

The Type 056 is expected to be deployed primarily for escort missions and anti-submarine operations and its delivery "marked the beginning of a systematic upgrade of the navy's equipment and defense" to enhance capabilities in safeguarding national security, territorial integrity, marine sovereignty and marine interests, said the report, carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.

The addition of the stealth frigate comes as China and Japan are locked in a worsening territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

China's claims much of the South China Sea, whose lanes are vital for global commerce, also are a source of growing concern to the international community.

Separately, Xinhua reported that China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, anchored for the first time in a military port in Qingdao in eastern Shandong province on Wednesday after leaving the wharf of Dalian ship building company the previous day. While sailing, the carrier conducted tests on weapon systems, the report said.