The recent news of the Chinese Navy’s imminent arrival to the Syrian port-city of Tartous has renewed the optimism that was once lost among the Syrian populous living under the government-controlled parts of Syria.

When the Chinese Navy finally arrives in Tartous, they will be welcomed by their Russian counterparts that are already stationed in Syria’s western countryside; however, unlike their Russian allies, the Chinese will not likely send infantry units to deploy around the country.

Instead, the Chinese Armed Forces will transport their aerial assets to the Hmamiyat Airfields inside the Bassel Al-Assad International Airport, where they will join the Russian and Syrian Air Forces.

The Hmamiyat Airfields are located inside a section of the Bassel Al-Assad International Airport that was used to by the Syrian Air Force as an airbase to conduct flights along the vast coast – the airport itself is located in the Jableh District of Latakia.

According to a senior officer in the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the Hmamiyat Airfields are primarily used by the Russian Air Force at the moment – he added that the Syrian Air Force moved most of their aerial assets from the Bashar Al-Assad International Airport to the Homs Governorate in preparation for the Chinese Air Force’s arrival.