(HU KAIBING)

Sailors stand on China's missile destroyer Haikou at a naval port in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, on June 9. Chinese naval vessels, including Haikou, the missile frigate Yueyang, the supplier ship Qiandaohu and the hospital ship Ark Peace, set sail from Sanya and Zhoushan in Zhejiang Province to the United States on June 9 to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) multinational naval exercises.

It is the first time that the Chinese navy has participated in joint maritime exercises organized by the U.S. navy.