The French Navy is willing to boost cooperation with its Chinese
counterpart, a senior French naval officer said in Toulon, France,
on Monday.
This is the first time that the Chinese naval vessels, including
the guided-missile destroyer Guangzhou and its supply ship
Weishanhu, visit Port Toulon, said Jean Tandonnet, the
French naval commander in the Mediterranean Sea, while visiting the
Chinese destroyer.
Both the Chinese and French vessels are expected to hold joint
military exercises on Tuesday, which marks the beginning of wider
cooperation, he added.
He also expressed his hope that the two navies would also
carryout anti-terrorism collaboration and assistance at sea.
The two Chinese vessels arrived in Toulon last Friday and will
leave France on Tuesday after the exercise named "China-France
Friendship 2007."
This the fourth and final leg of the 87-day voyage of the
Chinese vessels, which have already visited St. Petersburg, Russia;
Portsmouth, England, and Cadiz, in Spain.
(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2007)
