BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- A frigate was commissioned for the South China Sea fleet of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy on Friday, the China News Service has reported.

The frigate Yueyang is capable of long-range surveillance, as well as air defense and anti-submarine operations, according to the report.

At a ceremony held in Sanya, a port city in south China's Hainan Province, Jiang Weilie, commander of the South China Sea fleet, endorsed a PLA flag and naming certificate for the naval unit that received the frigate.