Australian warship calls at Myanmar port

YANGON - An Australian warship called at Myanmar's Thilawa Port in Yangon's Thanlyin township on Monday under a cultural cooperation and experience exchange program between navies of the two countries, official media reported Tuesday.

It is the first time for an Australian warship to visit Myanmar since the end of World War II and the visit followed that of a Japanese naval vessel to Yangon's Thilawa Port in September last year.

With 24 sailors, the Australian patrol vessel HMAS Childers will make the four-day call en-route to Bangladesh and multinational naval exercise in India.

The Australian sailors will carry out professional and cultural exchanges with counterparts from the Myanmar Navy during the call, sources said.

The warship is set to sail for the Chittagong Port in Bangladesh before it arrives in Indian Ocean for an exercise in the Bay of Bengal.

The 56-meter vessel plays its role of patrolling people smuggling and poaching operations across northern Australia.