CRI听力:Naval Symposium Inks Agreement to Head off Miscommunication

This year's Western Pacific Naval Symposium has kicked off today in Qingdao.

Naval officials attending the two-day event have inked an agreement meant to head-off accidents or miscommunication on the sea.

CRI's Xiong Siqi has more.

The Code For Unplanned Encounters at Sea has been approved unanimously at the Western Pacific Naval Symposium, also known as WPNS.

The agreement outlines how warships should communicate and manoeuvre when they come into contact in heavily trafficked sea lanes surrounding China, Japan and Southeast Asia.

Chinese Naval Commander Wu Shengli.

"We hope that we can increase understanding and trust among naval forces across the region, and further promote pragmatic maritime cooperation, and achieve expected goals through discussions at this year's symposium."

Participants have also agreed to accept Pakistan as a WPNS observer at the symposium.

Delegates at the event are set to review the work of WPNS-sponsored seminars and other activities for the past year, and deliberate maritime regulations in the region.

Chinese Naval Commander Wu Shengli has also taken time to acknowledge two recent tragedies in the region. 0423navyVideo: Chinese Naval Commander Wu Shengli delivers a speech on Western Pacific Naval Symposium.

"On behalf of the Chinese Navy, I would like to express our condolences to victims of missing flight MH370 and the Korean ferry accident. We would like to express our sympathy for those who lost their loved ones and gratitude for those countries that provided humanitarian assistance to the rescue operations. I would like to propose that we should have specific discussions on how to organize more efficient international maritime rescue operations during meetings at this year's symposium."

The WPNS was launched by the United States and its allies in 1987, with the goal of promoting cooperation among the navies of countries bordering the Pacific Ocean.

It is the first time China, as one of its 12 founding members, has hosted the biennial symposium.

The organization now has 21 member countries and four observers.

For CRI, this is Xiong Siqi.