Residents, visitors flock to waterfront as PLA navy ships sail into Hong Kong

Residents and tourists have flocked to Hong Kong’s harbourfronts to welcome two People’s Liberation Army (PLA) naval vessels on a five-day port call to the city.

The guided-missile destroyer Nanning and the guided-missile frigate Hengyang sailed into Hong Kong via Lei Yue Mun and Victoria Harbour on Thursday morning, with the ships arriving at Ngong Shuen Chau Barracks at 9am and 9.40am respectively.

A PLA band began to play celebratory music to welcome the Hengyang’s arrival at 9am, with dozens of officers waving in formation to greet the frigate. Naval officers in turn waved back from the decks of the frigate as it docked at the barracks.

China’s Ministry of Defence said the port call by the PLA vessels was to mark the 29th anniversary of the city’s return to Chinese sovereignty, which fell on July 1.

The Nanning, commissioned in 2021, was deployed to Sudan in April 2023 to evacuate hundreds of Chinese nationals and foreign citizens during the civil war.

Commissioned in 2008, the Hengyang has taken part in escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia over the years.