Kunlun Shan escorted by two Houbei Type 022 missile boats underway (2010)
History
China
NameKunlun Shan (998)
NamesakeKunlun Mountains
Operator People's Liberation Army Navy
Ordered?
BuilderHudong-Zhonghua shipyard
Laid downJune 2006
Launched21 December 2006
Commissioned30 November 2007
HomeportSouth Sea Fleet, Zhanjiang Naval Base
General characteristics
Class and typeType 071 amphibious transport dock
Displacement25,000 tons[1]
Length210 meters
Beam28 meters
Draught7 m (21 ft)
Propulsion
Speed25 knots (46 km/h) max[1]
Range10,000 nmi (19,000 km) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)[1]
Boats & landing
craft carried
Capacity15-20 armoured vehicles
Troops500-800 troops
Crew120
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
UAT Electronic Support Measures
Armament
Aircraft carried2-4 Z-8 Super Frelon

Kunlun Shan is a Type 071 amphibious transport dock ship currently in service to China's People's Liberation Army Navy. The lead ship of its class, the 25,000-ton ship was laid down in the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in Shanghai in June 2006, and was launched on 21 December 2006. After finishing sea trials the ship was commissioned to the South Sea Fleet at Zhanjiang Naval Base on 30 November 2007. Its estimated production cost is 300 million USD.

The ship is named after of the Kunlun Mountains, one of the most prominent mountain range in Northwest China.

Operational history

On 9 March 2014, the ship was deployed in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

In September 2016, the ship took part in combined naval exercises with the Russian Navy off the coasts of Guangdong.[2]

In 2019, the ship took part in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. On the return trip in June, it had a four-day stopover in Sydney Harbour, Australia as part of a three-ship taskforce along with the Type 054A frigate Xuchang and the Type 903 replenishment ship Luomahu.[3][4] According to then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the naval visit was invited by the Australian Government, but the neither the New South Wales government nor the Australian public were not informed ahead of the taskforce's arrival, which triggered a media frenzy among the conservative Australian media and politicians on the backdrop of rising geopolitical tension in Sino-Australian relations.[5][6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "中国船舶工业集团有限公司". Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2015-06-14.
  2. "PLAN's "Joint Sea-2016" Orbat". China Defense Blog. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  3. Hollingsworth, Julia (2019-06-03). "Chinese warships arrive in Sydney Harbor on Australian stopover". CNN. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  4. "Chinese warships in Sydney: a show of strength for Beijing?". South China Morning Post. 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2023-03-09.
  5. Foster, Ally (2019-06-05). "Important detail we missed in the arrival of Chinese warships to Sydney". News.com.au. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  6. Jennings, Peter (2019-06-08). "The many ways in which China is pushing us around … without resistance". Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
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