Egyptian and Chinese naval forces carried out joint military drills off Egypt s Mediterranean Coast, Egypt s army said in a statement on Wednesday.
A number of Egyptian naval units and Chinese navy guided-missile destroyer Xian (153) took part in the training activities, the statement added.
The military exercises involved counter-terrorism and anti-piracy activities and measures to combat unusual threats and inspect suspected vessels.
The exercises aim to "coordinate efforts to combat challenges and threats to support maritime security and stability efforts and secure global maritime transport lines," the statement said.
Egypt has carried out similar military exercises with a host of countries over the past few years including the US, France, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, and Bahrain. These programmes are meant to exchange experience and boost military-to-military relationships with armed forces of other countries.
In November, armed forces and observers from eight Arab countries met in Egypt for the Arab Shield-1 military exercise, which was dubbed the largest in the region.
Last September, Egypt hosted joint US-Egyptian military drills called Bright Star 2018 in the country s North Coast. Land, naval and air forces from Egypt, the US, Greece, Jordan, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Italy and France as well as 16 observing countries took part in the drills, and approximately 800 US military service members participated in Bright Star 2018 for the second year in a row.
