ZHANJIANG, China, Sept. 5 -- The Chinese and Singaporean navies kicked off their "Maritime Cooperation-2026" joint exercise at a naval base in Zhanjiang City, South China's Guangdong Province, on September 5, 2026.

The Chinese PLA Navy's Type 054A guided-missile frigate Dali (Hull 553) and the Republic of Singapore Navy's Formidable-class frigate RSS Steadfast (Hull 70) will participate in the exercise.

The exercise will comprise a shore phase at a naval base from September 5 to 7, and a sea phase in waters off Zhanjiang City from September 8 to 9, 2026.

During the shore phase, personnel from both navies will engage in planning exercises and professional exchanges. At sea, both navies will have an exchange of sea riders and conduct a range of serials. These include gunnery firings, communications and maneuvering exercises, as well as joint search and rescue and medical evacuation drills.

Prior to this, China and Singapore have held four "Maritime Cooperation" joint naval exercises. In 2015, the two countries conducted their first bilateral naval exercise under the name "Maritime Cooperation-2015." Since then, the two navies have established a routine mechanism of alternating hosts, with the scale and influence of the exercises steadily growing.