Chinese Navy fights piracy in Somalia

The Chinese Navy is once again sending forces to Somalia to target piracy in the Gulf of Aden. China first began patrolling the waters along with an international flotilla in 2008. Since then, it's undertaken ten such missions - protecting some 4500 ships.

The farewell ceremony is becoming more and more familiar to the Chinese navy these days. A fleet left the port Qingdao on Monday morning, ready to carry out its orders.

Yang Junfei, fleet commander, said, "Fleet 113 ready for duty." Ding Yiping, deputy commander of Chinese navy, said, "Set Sail!"

The fleet brings a destroyer, missile frigate, support ship, 2 helicopters and special forces to bear on the region - a total of 800 naval personnel are involved.

The UN Security Council has been urging member countries to combat piracy along the Somali coast since the 1990s. The Chinese navy joined in 4 years ago and has been an active partner ever since.

Last Thursday, The People's Liberation Army Navy held the International Symposium on Counter-Piracy and Escort Operations in China's eastern city of Nanjing. Delegations from more than 20 states and organizations gathered there to get to know more about each other.

Phil Haslam, staff captain of European Naval Force, said, "I represent the European Naval Force, which is based in London, and the tactical coordination the ships have, day to day, in the Gulf of Aden. I see this symposium is taking that coordination to another level."

Cao Weidong, senior researcher of Naval Research Institute, PLA, said, "The Chinese navy hopes to build up a platform for international cooperation that will allow naval forces of different countries to familiarize themselves with each other. I hope the platform well-serves our anti-piracy goals. "

In addition to combating piracy, the fleet will be continuing to offer human aid to countries in need.