Chinese frigates pay port call at Myanmar's old capital

Myanmar navy officers wave to welcome the arrival of a Chinese navy ship Friday, Sept. 30, 2016, in Yangon, Myanmar. Two Chinese frigates, the Zhoushan and the Xiangtan, are both paying a friendly port call at the Thilawa port in Myanmar's old capital Yangon. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw) (The Associated Press)

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Captain Wang Hong Li, commanding officer of 23rd Chinese naval escort task force, greets local Chinese upon arrival at the Thilawa International Port, Friday, Sept. 30, 2016, in Yangon, Myanmar. Two Chinese naval frigates are paying a port call at the Thilawa port of Myanmar's old capital Yangon. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw) (The Associated Press)

Chinese navy officers stand on deck upon arrival at Thilawa International Port Friday, Sept. 30, 2016, in Yangon, Myanmar. Two Chinese frigates, the Zhoushan and the Xiangtan, are both paying a friendly port call at the Thilawa port in Myanmar's old capital Yangon. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw) (The Associated Press)

THILAWA, Myanmar – Two Chinese naval frigates are paying a port call near Myanmar's old capital, Yangon.

The Zhoushan and the Xiangtan berthed Friday at Thilawa, south of Yangon, as Myanmar military dignitaries waved in welcome.

China's ambassador to Myanmar, Hong Liang, said the visit showed the two countries' military relations are close, "like brothers."

The Chinese navy vessels are returning from an escort mission to the Gulf of Aden. It is the second such port call in Myanmar in recent years.

China has been wooing its fast-growing neighbor after relations cooled earlier this decade. Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won an election in November 2015, is showing a renewed willingness to embrace China, the country's top trading partner and investor.