BEIJING, Feb. 12 -- On February 12, the day of Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, naval troops assigned to the Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command conducted combat-readiness patrol in waters around the Taiwan Island.
During the patrol mission, sailors aboard the PLA Navy's guided-missile frigate Huaibei (Hull 516) called Taiwan's warship Yiyang through a communication channel and sent Lantern Festival greetings to the sailors aboard the ship Yiyang.