New warships will make their public debut in a scheduled maritime parade on April 23 in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province in celebration of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's 70th anniversary.
A total of 32 Chinese vessels and 39 Chinese aircraft will be a part of the parade, said Qiu Yanpeng, deputy commander of the PLA Navy, at a press conference held ahead of the anniversary on Saturday.
Aircraft carrier Liaoning, new nuclear-powered submarines, new destroyers and aircraft will participate in the fleet review. Some vessels will make their public debut, Qiu said.
The new nuclear-powered submarine could be the Type 095 attack submarine, a new model of Type 094 ballistic missile submarine or a new model of Type 093 attack submarine, an anonymous military expert predicted.
The new destroyer is very likely to be China's first 10,000 ton-class destroyer, the Type 055, the expert told the Global Times.
The warships will form into six groups during the fleet review: a submarine group, a destroyer group, a frigate group, an amphibious landing ship group, an auxiliary ship group and an aircraft carrier group, Qiu revealed.
Ten aircraft formations in the parade will include an early warning aircraft formation, a reconnaissance aircraft formation, an anti-submarine aircraft formation, a bomber formation, a fighter formation, an aircraft carrier-based fighter formation and a vessel-based helicopter formation.
More than 10 countries including Russia, Thailand, Vietnam and India will also send about 20 naval vessels including destroyers, frigates and amphibious landing vessels to join the parade.
More than 60 countries from five continents will send naval delegations, with more than 30 of them featuring major naval leaders, Qiu said.
While the fleet review will be held on April 23, the whole celebration event will be from April 22 to 25, featuring other activities including high-level seminars, joint military music performances, and cultural and military exchanges.
