HANOI, April 28. /TASS/. A group of the Russian Pacific Fleet’s warships comprising the corvettes Rezky and Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and the support vessel Pechenga has arrived at the Sihanoukville autonomous port in Cambodia on an unofficial visit, Russia’s embassy in the Southeast Asian country told TASS on Monday.
Russian Ambassador in the Kingdom of Cambodia Anatoly Borovik took part in a welcome ceremony for the ships and greeted the Pacific Fleet’s sailors. He said that Russian naval ships traditionally made annual calls at Cambodian ports.
"The diplomatic relations between our countries were established in 1956 and they have been developing consistently since then and both countries are ramping up bilateral cooperation in many spheres, including interaction between the defense ministries and you make your contribution to this important work," the ambassador said, addressing the Russian naval sailors.
The Russian officers acquainted the ambassador with the armament and equipment of the Pacific Fleet’s warships.
A series of events have been planned for the four-day stay of Russian naval sailors in Cambodia. The naval group’s commanders will pay courtesy visits to state and military officials of the Kingdom, while the crews will visit Phnom Penh on sightseeing tours and hold football and volleyball friendlies with Cambodian sailors.
The press office of Russia’s Pacific Fleet reported on February 3 that its naval group comprising the corvettes Rezky and Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov and the medium sea tanker Pechenga had commenced its long-distance deployment to accomplish assigned objectives in the Asia-Pacific region. Upon exiting the Zolotoy Rog (Golden Horn) Bay in the Sea of Japan, the naval group’s personnel conducted shipborne air defense drills and practiced readiness to repel an attack by a potential enemy’s uncrewed boats.
In the Peter the Great Gulf, one corvette took a Ka-27 naval aviation helicopter on its board. During the long-distance deployment, the Russian naval ships conducted a series of drills, in particular, an exercise to hunt down and destroy a notional enemy’s submarines and provide air defense at sea.
In February, the Rezky and the Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov took part in the multilateral naval exercise Komodo 2025 in the city of Denpasar on the Bali Island in Indonesia. In March, the Russian corvettes participated in the naval drills dubbed Maritime Security Belt 2025 jointly with combat ships of the Iranian and Chinese navies, following which they conducted a joint exercise with the Pakistani Navy in the Arabian Sea. In early April, the Russian naval ships successfully concluded the Indra Navy 2025 joint maneuvers with the Indian Navy.