Beijing, Jul 11 (PTI) The navies of China and Pakistan will commence a live-fire drill on Tuesday off the Shanghai coast as part of a four-day joint maritime exercise code named Sea Guardians-2, official media here reported on Monday.

Fleets participating in the drill will set off from a military port in Shanghai for the scheduled sea area.

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The joint exercise aims to enhance defence cooperation, exchange expertise and experience, deepen the traditional friendship between the two countries and militaries, and promote the development of the China-Pakistan all-weather strategic cooperative partnership, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Professional and technical exchanges, tug-of-war and basketball matches took place on Monday.

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All-weather friends China and Pakistan on Sunday kicked off their 'Sea Guardians-2' drills off the Shanghai coast by deploying their new high-tech naval ships and fighter jets to "jointly deal with maritime security threats", as their navies stepped up cooperation in India's backyard, the Indian Ocean.

The PLA Eastern Theatre Command Navy sent the frigate Xiangtan, the corvette Shuozhou, the comprehensive supply ship Qiandaohu, a submarine, an early warning aircraft, two fighter jets and a helicopter for the drill while the Pakistan Navy's frigate Taimur joined the exercise, the state-run Global Times reported on Sunday.

Taimur is the second of four Type 054A/P frigates built by China. It was delivered to the Pakistan Navy in Shanghai on June 23. The first ship in the Type 054A/P-class, the Tughril, joined the Pakistan Navy Fleet in January, according to the daily's report.

The Pakistan Navy has contracted the construction of four Type 054A/P frigates from China in 2017. Besides acquiring four modern naval frigates from China, Pakistan will also be getting eight Chinese submarines as part of efforts to modernise the Pakistan Navy.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)