New Chinese destroyer Lhasa circles Japan in first far-sea training run

Japan sends frigates and surveillance aircraft to monitor the powerful Type 055 its escorts as it sails around the country’s main islands

Voyage comes soon after similar voyage by Russian naval vessels

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The Lhasa was declared combat ready in January. Photo: Weibo

Published: 12:15pm, 2 Jul 2022

An advanced Chinese destroyer circled Japan with escorts in its first far-sea exercises last week, in the wake of Russian naval forces on a similar mission, according to the Japanese Defence Ministry.

The Type 055 guided-missile destroyer Lhasa, together with Type 052D guided-missile destroyer Chengdu and Type 903A supply ship Dongpinghu, completed an 18-day trip around Japan’s main islands on Wednesday under the watch of Japanese Self-Defence Forces, the Japanese Joint Staff said on Thursday.

Heading north, the Lhasa sailed through the Tsushima Strait between Japan and the Korean peninsula from June 12 and travelled northeast in the Japan Sea, crossed the Soya Strait between Sakhalin and Hokkaido on June 16 and 17.

The destroyer then headed south in the Pacific before turning westward on June 21 through the Izu Islands and returned to the East China Sea through the Miyako Strait in the Okinawa Islands on June 29.

The Chengdu and Dongpinghu escorted the Lhasa for most of the journey, but the Dongpinghu did not go through the Soya Strait, instead taking a shorter route through the Tsugaru Strait between Hokkaido and Honshu.

Japan sent frigates and surveillance aircraft to monitor the Chinese fleet.

A few days earlier, a group of Russia navy warships headed by the Udaloy-class destroyer Admiral Panteleyev took a similar route from the Pacific between June 15 and 21, according to the Japanese ministry.

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