New vessel beefs up PLA Navy fleet

The People's Liberation Army Navy has commissioned its 31st Type-056 class corvette, marking a new addition to the world's largest fleet of modern corvettes.

The CNS Ezhou with a hull number of 513 was delivered to the East Sea Fleet in a naval base in East China's Fujian province on Wednesday, PLA Daily reported, saying the ship will perform coastal patrol, fishery escort, anti-submarine and anti-ship operations.

It is the second ship that has been commissioned to the PLA Navy since the start of 2017, following the CNS Kaiyangxing, a Type-815A class electronic reconnaissance ship, which now belongs to the North Sea Fleet.