As part of efforts to strengthen the ties between China and Nigeria, the Chinese Navy at the weekend disclosed that China has donated a boat to the Nigerian Navy (NN) to assist in its fight against sea criminals.
The Commander of the Chinese TaskGroup, Senior Captain Li Pengcheng made the disclosure at the weekend in Lagos during a courtesy visit to the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command (WNC), Rear Admiral Sanmi Alade.
Details of the boat, which is an addition to two others NN ordered from China could not be gotten from Pengcheng, though he stated that it would be at no cost to Nigeria.
Pengcheng, who led the TaskGroup comprising three ships and over 1, 000 crew on a four-day visit to Nigeria, told reporters his men and NN personnel would engage in joint counter-piracy, formation and maneuver as well as search and rescue exercises.
“We believe we would learn from each other through these exercises and the outcome will be beneficial for regional peace and security,” said Pengcheng.
He added that his team would readily share the experiences learnt at the Gulf of Aden (GOA) and Syria with their Nigeria counterpart, adding that Nigeria’s economic potentials in Africa and the world cannot be underestimated.
In his remark, Alade, who commended the Chinese Navy for visiting Nigeria for the first time, said the gesture was evidence that the relationship between both military forces was going beyond trainings.
Alade said adequate plans have been made to ensure that the vessels are properly maintained, adding that NN personnel are in China, where they are being trained to master the vessels’ technology.
“The problem with Nigeria and other developing nations in maintenance is mastery of technology or technology transfer. As I speak with you, adequate plans have been made to ensure that the vessels are properly maintained.
“Our personnel are in China and some have gone since the keels to the vessels were laid. They are mastering the technology and so, maintenance would not be a problem,” he said.
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