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The Chinese Luyang II-class guided missile destroyer Jinan, top, the Jiangkai-class frigate Yiyang, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mason, center, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Monterey and the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Stout, bottom, steam in formation during a passing exercise Nov. 7, 2015, in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Chinese Luyang II-class guided missile destroyer Jinan, top, the Jiangkai-class frigate Yiyang, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mason, center, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Monterey and the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Stout, bottom, steam in formation during a passing exercise Nov. 7, 2015, in the Atlantic Ocean. (Edward Guttierrez III/U.S. Navy)

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — A flotilla of Chinese ships arrived at Pearl Harbor for a routine port call on Sunday.

The three ships — the CNS Jinian, CNS Yiyan and CNS Qiandaohu — are scheduled to remain at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam near Honolulu through Thursday, giving the People’s Liberation Army-Navy sailors a chance to interact with their American counterparts, a U.S. Navy statement said.

Rear Adm. John Fuller, Navy Region Hawaii commander; Capt. Stanley Keeve, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam commander; and Capt. Kevin Brand, commanding officer of the guided-missile cruiser USS Chosin, greeted the Chinese sailors upon their arrival.

Foreign navy ships make regular stops at Pearl Harbor, the most recent by the Zheng He, a PLA midshipman training vessel, in October.

The USS Stethem visited Shanghai, China, in mid-November, in the wake of tensions after the United States sailed the destroyer USS Lassen within 12 nautical miles of the disputed Subi Reef in the South China Sea.

news@stripes.com

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