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China had confirmed on Monday that for the first time, it will participate in a US-hosted military exercise in June and send four ships for the event, amid existing military distrust between the two nations.
Beijing has agreed to attend the said drill despite the high level of tension over territorial spats in the East and South China Seas. The US has also grown weary of China's military expansion and its cyber capabilities, according to Reuters.
The Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise is known as the biggest naval drill in the world. Around 22 countries and over 40 ships and submarines participated in the 2012 maritime exercise held off Hawaii.
Not all the attendees of RIMPAC are US allies. In 2013, Russia and India were among the drill's participants.
China, however, has never attended the drill before but the Pentagon says it had sent observers in 1998. According to US officials in March, China had already accepted this year's invitation.
The People's Liberation Army Daily cited a navy spokesperson saying this would mark the first time that China would participate in the US-hosted military exercises. Aside from two warships, the Chinese navy will also include one hospital ship, one supply vessel, and two helicopters in its delegation.
The Chinese navy will join the exercises covering cannon firing, maritime security actions, maritime warship exercises, army medicine exchanges, diving drills, humanitarian aid, and disaster management.
The newspaper also said both the Chinese and the US parties will join a medical forum and will visit each other's vessels.
The said event is set to take place mid-June off the island of Guam. Singapore and Brunei will also send their own delegations.
Just last week, the Defense Ministry of China criticized the Pentagon for releasing a report putting its true military budget at over $145 billion for 2013. The report also said China was starting to expand its army modernization program.
