China has dispatched six warships to the Middle East as tensions in the region escalate over the Israel-Hamas conflict.
China’s 44th naval escort task force, from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theatre had been in the area after taking part in a joint exercise with the Omani navy. The task force left Muscat for an unspecified location on Saturday
InfoWars reports: The convoy includes the Zibo and the Urumqi, both Type 052D guided-missile destroyers, the frigate Jingzhou, the integrated supply ship Qiandaohu, the frigate Linyi, and a supply ship Dongpinghu.
The Chinese task force commander said, “This year marks the 5th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Kuwait strategic partnership and also the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. It is hoped that this visit will help facilitate mutual understanding and trust and promote exchanges and cooperation between the two countries and militaries.”
The convoy had been present in the Gulf of Aden conducting regular operations in the region since May and just finished a naval exercise with the Oman navy.
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But the convoy’s presence in the Middle East is seen as increasingly significant as U.S. Department of Defense deployed two carrier strike groups to the region last week.
Additionally, the U.S. has put troops on “prepare-to-deploy” status in addition to sending missile defense systems to several military installations in the Middle East in the wake of escalations by Iran and its proxies.
