A special operation unit of the 15th escort taskforce under the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) conducted live-fire training with the heavy machine guns on the sea at 9 a.m. local time on Aug. 19, 2013.

Firing with the heavy machine guns on the sea is mainly for warnings and blocking of suspicious vessels, and it is one of the effective ways to prevent suspicious vessels getting close to the merchant ships, according to Yuan Xinyuan, commander of the special operation unit.