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Iranian Navy enters Pacific
Both an Iranian warship's passage through the Suez Canal and into the Mediterranean on 22 February 2011 and Iranian warships paying port calls in the Sudan a year later have reinforced the fact that the Iranian Navy has expanded its operational reach. The push into the Pacific comes less than three months after Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared that the Iranian Navy's new emphasis should be expanding its reach beyond the Persian Gulf.

The Iranian flotilla, comprising a destroyer
more likely a frigate or even a corvette...
and a helicopter carrier,
'helicopter' carrier means a ship carrying exactly one chopper, I think...
may symbolically demonstrate Iran's naval resurgence, but logistical constraints--fueling and resupply--should keep the Iranian vessels close to shore. As such, however, Tehran's dispatch of its navy into the Pacific might be considered a diplomatic shot across the bow. Beyond pulling into Zhangjiagang, a port just north of Shanghai, the flotilla is also expected to pay a port call in Sri Lanka on its way home.

Whether or not the Iranian vessels are resupplied at sea might shed light on Iran's logistical capabilities, and where else Iranian military vessels pull into port--perhaps in Pakistan and Burma (Myanmar)--might also shed light on Iranian efforts to develop military ties with Asia. The implication of any Iranian military vessels continuing on to North Korea is alarming. While Tehran and Pyongyang cooperate commercially and, according to Western press reports, in the covert exchange of nuclear technology as well, overt military cooperation would suggest confidence and augmentation of ties which might challenge the West.
Posted by: tipper 2013-04-05
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=365592