Navies of US and China conduct CUES and SAR exercises

The US Navy and the People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA (N)) have conducted a military exercise Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) and a search-and-rescue (SAR) exercise.

The exercise saw Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63) practise unplanned maritime encounters with its PLA (N) guided-missile frigate Xuzhou (FFG 530).

During the exercise, both the ships used CUES as a signalling protocol along with Xuzchou to indicate ship manoeuvring while passing Morse code to one another.

Stethem is currently forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan.

It also included Xuzhou dropping a SAR dummy in the water to be retrieved by one of Stethem’s small boats.

USS Stethem commanding officer commander Harry Marsh said: "The exercise was the culmination of our visit with the PLA Navy.

"Each day and interaction brought our crews and navies closer, so that by the end of the week, the exercise was smoothly conducted. Our continually improving relationship with the PLA (N) is the entire reason why these visits are so crucial to our partnership."

During the exercise, Stethem concluded a scheduled port visit to PLA(N) East Sea Fleet of Shanghai.

CUES is a guideline for unplanned maritime encounters while at sea, which were approved by naval leaders at the Western Pacific Naval Symposium in April 2014.

It aims to provide standards for communication, safety procedures, and manoeuvring instructions for naval ships and aircraft.

Earlier in July, Stethem had visited Qingdao, China, and operated with the PLA(N) North Sea Fleet.

USS Stethem operations officer lieutenant Erika Betancourt said: "This is our second visit to China in three months.

"The strides we have made in our partnership and operational cooperation improve both our ability to conduct exercises and our interactions at sea."