Patrol vessel heads to Hawaii for joint exercises

The Haixun 31 maritime patrol vessel, one of China's biggest maritime patrol ships, will set out for its first visit to the United States on Saturday.

Scheduled to depart from Shanghai at 10:30 am, Haixun 31 is expected to arrive in Hawaii on Sept 4. It will be there for five days to work with the US Coast Guard on a series of maritime cooperation exercises, including a field test of joint search-and-rescues.

Issues such as Sino-US maritime safety management, water traffic safety and disaster relief will also be discussed.