China's defense ministry has announced that it will hold an international maritime parade on April 23 in waters off Qingdao city, east China's Shandong Province, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy.

This information was released by the Chinese Ministry of National Defense at a regular briefing on Thursday in Beijing.

At the event, the ministry's spokesperson Ren Guoqiang also addressed a question by CGTN on the U.S. military's increasing "Freedom of Navigation" operations in the South China Sea.

"Navigation does not equal trespassing and should not violate laws." Ren reiterated. 

He also warned against stirring up of trouble in the region, saying the Chinese military will take resolute measures to firmly defend its national sovereignty.

Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy was established on April 23, 1949.

On April 12, 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, reviewed the PLA Navy in the South China Sea. 

Last April, China launched its biggest naval parade in the South China Sea. It featured 48 vessels and 76 fighter jets, including the Liaoning aircraft carrier, J-15 fighter jets and nuclear submarines as well as more than 10,000 personnel.

On April 26, 2017, China launched its second aircraft carrier in the Dalian shipyard of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corp., a milestone in the development of the country's home-made aircraft carrier. The first domestically-built aircraft carrier came after the Liaoning, a refitted former Soviet Union-made carrier that was put into commission in the Chinese navy in 2012. 

In September 2017, China launched its first replenishment oiler, the 40,000-tonne "Hulun Lake", a new type of naval auxiliary ship which can refuel aircraft carriers at sea, making China's navy development more hierarchical and scientific.

And in June 2017, China launched a new destroyer, a 10,000-tonne domestically designed and produced vessel. As the first of China's new generation of destroyers, it is equipped with new air defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons. It marked a major step for the country in improving the navy armament system and building a strong and modern maritime force. 

(CGTN's Han Bin also contributed to the story)

(Cover: Vessels and aircraft including the aircraft carrier Liaoning and latest submarines, vessels and fighter jets take part in a review in the South China Sea on April 12, 2018. /Xinhua Photo)