US, China navies conduct search and rescue, maneuvering events

From Update.Ph (Aug 16): US, China navies conduct search and rescue, maneuvering events

Sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) man the rails before the ship breaks away from the People’s Liberation Army (Navy) Jiangkai II class frigate Daqing (FFG 576) during a Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) exercise. US Navy photo

The United States and China navies have conducted coordinated maneuvering events, Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), and a search-and-rescue (SAR) swimmer training event, the US Navy said. US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold (DDG 65) visited Qindao, China from August 8 to 12.

US Navy said Benfold and PLA Navy’s Jiangkai II class frigate Daqing (FFG 576) practiced tactical signals to maneuver into lead and trail positions as well as CUES to facilitate clear and professional communication between the ships.

  

“This engagement helped to strengthen our continued use of CUES in an effort to reinforce international norms when operating in close proximity to each other,”
said USS Benfold operations officer aboard Lieutenant Christopher Ragsdale.

CUES is an agreement reached at the 2014 Western Pacific Naval Symposium to reduce the chance of an incident at sea between the countries in the agreement, and – in the event that one occurred – to prevent it from escalating.

The final event in the engagement between two navies practiced search and rescue where both the Daqing and Benfold searched for, and rescued, simulated victims dropped by a Chinese Navy support ship.

USS Benfold is a US Navy destroyer forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan. She is currently underway in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asian Pacific.

http://www.update.ph/2016/08/us-china-navies-conduct-search-and-rescue-maneuvering-events/8583