Type 053 frigate The Type 053 frigates were a family of Chinese ships that served with the People ' s Liberation Army Navy ( PLAN ) , and a small number of foreign navies . The Type 053 was developed from the Soviet " Riga " - class frigates after the Sino – Soviet split . The designation of ships and subclasses is somewhat confusing . Chinese nomenclature temporarily changed during the Cultural Revolution , and some subclasses gained different NATO reporting name s . This article covers the entire Type 053 family except for the final two subclasses , the Type 053H2G and Type 053H3 frigate s . History . Replicating the " Riga " and the Type 065 . In the 1950s , the Soviets provided China with four kits for " Riga " - class frigates and four completed " Gnevny " - class destroyers . These entered PLAN service as the Type 01 " Chengdu " - class and the Type 07 " Anshan " - class respectively . The " Riga " kits were assembled by the Huangpu Shipyard in Guangzhou , and the Hudong Shipyard in Shanghai , from 1955 to 1958 . These ships formed the PLAN ' s backbone in the 1950s and 1960s . Following the Sino - Soviet split and the withdrawal of Soviet aid , the Wuhan - based No . 701 Institute began reverse - engineering the Type 01 in 1962 . The result was the Type 065 . It was based on the " Riga " hull with the flush deck replaced by a long forecastle . This modification was needed to accommodate a large medium - speed diesel powerplant ; the civilian diesel was a substitute for the " Riga " s compact high - pressure steam turbine powerplant that the Chinese were unable to replicate . The first Type 065 , 529 " Haikou " , was laid down at Huangpu in August 1964 and commissioned by August 1966 . Type 053K air - defence frigate . From 1965 to 1967 , the No . 701 Institute designed the Type 053K ( " Kong " for air - defence ) , an air - defence variant of the Type 065 . This met a PLAN requirement for air - defence ships to accompany the surface - warfare Type 051 destroyer s . The Type 053K was originally intended to have three screws powered by a combined gas - turbine and diesel engine , with a speed of 38 knots . However , technical constraints forced the Chinese to settle for a diesel engine , powering two screws for a maximum speed of 30 knots . The Type 053Ks were armed with HQ - 61 surface - to - air missile s , launched from two twin - armed launchers ; these did not enter service until the mid - 1980s . The 100 mm . gun armament was also delayed . Only two Type 053Ks were completed , possibly due to unsatisfactory performance and the long development time for their intended armament . 531 " Yingtan " was laid down in 1970 and commissioned in 1977 , and followed by 532 . Both ships were withdrawn from service in 1992 , with one scrapped in 1994 and the other preserved as a museum ship . Type 053H surface - warfare frigate . The PLAN retired many older frigates in the 1970s , and the No . 701 Institute developed the Type 053H ( " Hai " for anti - ship ) as a replacement . The initial design was armed with six SY - 1 anti - ship missiles in two three - missile box launchers , and a single 100 mm . gun . The Type 053H received the NATO codename " Jianghu - I " . The first was constructed by the Hudong Shipyard and entered service in the mid - 1970s . At least a dozen were built and entered service with the PLAN East Sea Fleet . The Type 053H was improved in four successive subclasses , receiving NATO codenames " Jianghu - II " through " Jianghu - V " . The Type 053Hs were succeeded by the PLAN ' s first multirole frigates , the Type 053H2G and Type 053H3 frigates . Foreign sales . The Chinese sold the Type 053H , and derivatives , to foreign navies . The buyers generally found the ships to be of poor quality . One used Type 053H1 was sold to the Bangladesh Navy , with two used Type 053H1s going to the Egyptian Navy . Sonars for these ships are Echo Type 5 , a development of EH - 5 sonar used on Jianghu - III ' s , adopting LSIC technology . The stabilizers did not work , and ships that had air conditioning could only use them sparingly to save the generators . The 100 mm . gun was hand - loaded and did not have working fire - control radar . They mounted obsolete Chinese copies of the Soviet P - 15 Termit anti - ship missile . The Royal Thai Navy received four new Type 053Ts ( based on the then - latest Type 053H2 ) in the early - 1990s . Each cost ฿ 2 billion . Two were modified with rear helicopter decks . The sonar on these ships is SJD - 5A , a further development of Echo Type 5 sonars on the same class of ships sold to Egyptian and Bangladesh navies , with VLSIC repalcing LSIC . The interior wiring was exposed and had to be rewired . The damage control system , notably the fire - suppression system and water - tight locks , was also poor ; it was expected a hull breach would lead to rapid flooding and the loss of the ship . The Thai Navy spent considerable time and effort to correct some of the issues . The negative feedback drove improvements in the Chinese shipbuilding industry . By the mid - 1990s , the Thai Navy was confident enough to order two enlarged Type 053 hulls as the F25T " Naresuan " - class frigates . The F25Ts were fitted with Western engines and armament , and their construction was supervised by technical advisers from the German ship building industry . Sonars on these F25Ts are SO - 7H , which is the Chinese version of French DUBA25 . Transfers to the Coast Guard . In 2007 , the Type 053H frigates 509 and 510 were transferred to the China Coast Guard and refitted as Ocean Patrol Vehicles 1002 and 1003 . The superstructure was heavily modified . Armament was reduced to a small cannon forward and heavy machine guns ; some of freed space was used to stow small patrol boats and add crew quarters . Transfers to Myanmar . In 2012 , two units , Anshun ( FFG 554 ) and Jishou ( FFG 557 ) were transferred to Myanmar as UMS Mahar Bandoola ( F - 21 ) and UMS Mahar Thiha Thura ( F - 23 ) respectively . Incidents . On 11 July 2012 , a Jianghu - V ship , 560 " Dongguan " , ran aground on a shoal off the coast of the Philippines . The area where the incident occurred , known as Half Moon Shoal ( Hasa Hasa Shoal in the Philippines ) in the Spratly Islands is 60 miles west of Rizal , Palawan . By 15 July the ship had been refloated and was returning to port with no injuries and only minor damage . Confrontations over territorial disputes in the South China Sea , and particularly the disputed status of the Spratly Islands , have become more frequent in recent years , and caused noticeable friction at the 2012 ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh that was taking place at the same time as the incident . 053H1G ( Jianghu - V ) Ships of Class . Service with other navies . 9 total : Nomenclature . The naming of the Type 053 / Type 6601 / Type 065 frigates reflected contemporary Chinese political turmoil . The PLAN originally named major surface combatants after geographical areas in China , but this practice was abolished during the Cultural Revolution . During that period , most of the third batch of Type 065s were either not named or had their names stripped ; ships were referred to only by their hull numbers . The naming of ships resumed in the latter half of the 1980s . However , by that time the Type 065s were nearing retirement , and the traditional geographic names were given to newer ships . For example , " Jinan " was allocated to a Type 051 destroyer . When the older Type 053 / Type 6601 / Type 065 were renamed , none received the same one they had held before . Coast Guard ship class . Two Type 053H are now classed as coast guard cutters following transfer and modifications : | module3 = References . Jackson , Robert " Fighting Ships of The World . " London : Amber Books Ltd , 2004 Pg . 383 ISBN 9781840136470