Chinese warships dock in Hong Kong

Two of China's most advanced warships have docked in Hong Kong, in what some see as a deliberate display of China's naval strength. This came as a Chinese naval commander on Monday said that the recent joint US-Philippine drill in the South China Sea did not "target" any particular country, after a recent report which highlighted increased tensions in the area. The warships in the 10th Chinese Naval Escort Taskforce - the "Yuncheng 571" frigate and "Haikou 171" destroyer -  arrived in Hong Kong's Stonecutters army base on Monday for a five-day visit. The ships carry missile-firing capacities and represent two of the Chinese navy's main battleships, according to a People's Liberation Army press release. The visit coincided with top level US-Philippine security talks in Washington, as the US refocuses its foreign policy on Asia. China has maritime spats with several countries in the South China Sea, believed to be rich in oil and gas and crossed by important shipping lanes, and its neighbours fear its growing naval reach in staking claim to a number of disputed areas. Some of those disputes are pushing the Philippines to seek closer co-operation with the US, which in turn has prompted China to warn Washington against getting involved. But on Monday, Real Admiral Li Shihong, who commands the taskforce and also works as the deputy chief of staff of the South China Sea Fleet, told reporters that he did not think the recent joint drill by the Philippines and the US was targeted at China. "No matter which country it is, doing a joint regular exercise and drill on the sea is, I think, normal. So far, I do not think it [the US-Philippine drill] targets any country. Of course, when they take certain action in a certain region, everyone will have different views on the issue and this is completely normal," Li said. Think-tank International Crisis Group launched a report last week warning of the escalating tensions in the South China Sea region. Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, the group's project director of North East Asia and its China Adviser, said the rising tension could benefit the Chinese navy based in the South China Sea. "In China, the South Sea Fleet, which is the one responsible for the South China Sea, has traditionally been the least well-endowed of all the three fleets. And so these tensions in the South China Sea is the perfect justification for their modernisation," Kleine-Ahlbrandt said. The two warships had been based in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia since November 2011, where they escorted 240 ships and saved one boat from pirates' attack, according to the PLA's press release. The navy will host a few more opening sessions before the ship leaves for mainland China on Friday.