Sailing to strengthen global security

By Wu Jiao and Peng Kuang (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-26 08:35

Chinese analysts have called it a "major shift" in the country's mindset over security issues, while foreign media said the move could have "far-reaching consequences" beyond national shores.

All are paying close attention to the unprecedented deployment of a Chinese flotilla to Somali waters to join a global fight against increasingly rampant piracy.

A Chinese navy sailor guards on the deck of the missile destroyer "Wuhan", the flagship of a fleet composed with two destroyers and a large supply vessel, at a naval base in Sanya, South China's Hainan Province, December 25th, 2008. Du Jingchen, chief commander, said his three warships and near-1000 soldiers are ready for the mission in the Gulf of Aden against the Somali pirates. [chinadaily.com.cn]

The two destroyers - Haikou and Wuhan - and a supply vessel, Weishanhu, will carry two helicopters, missiles, cannons and a crew including special forces. They are scheduled to leave the port city of Sanya in southern Hainan province today for the Gulf of Aden on the three-month assignment.

The deployment is considered the first case in recent history that sees China sending vessels on a potential combat mission beyond its territorial waters.

"It is a huge breakthrough in China's concepts about security," said Li Wei, director of the anti-terrorism research center at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

The move signals a change in how the country is dealing with its perceived threats, Li said.

Traditional concepts of security have focused on the behavior of sovereign states in areas covering the military, politics and foreign policy. But ideas of non-traditional security often stem from the actions of non-state actors, such as terrorism, financial crises, natural disasters, growing populations and the piracy in Somalia, Li said.

With China's increasing involvement in global affairs, these non-traditional security concerns occurring outside of the country have increasingly threatened its interests, Li said.

"Sending troops to join in the Somali anti-piracy mission signals the change in China's concept of security from the traditional to the non-traditional," he said.

The Chinese flotilla headed for the waters off the East African country to ensure the safety of Chinese vessels and crew on board as well as ships carrying humanitarian relief material for international organizations, such as the World Food Program earlier this month. The UN Security Council unanimously agreed to authorize countries to fight piracy in Somali waters, and even on land, to free one of the world's busiest commercial sea channels of the menace.

The Gulf of Aden itself leads to the Suez Canal and is considered the quickest route from Asia to Europe and the Americas. It is also one of the important trade arteries for China, through which about 40 percent of all the goods and raw materials bound for the country pass, said Kang Shuchun, a researcher in Chinese shipping.

Somali pirates have reportedly attacked one-fifth of the Chinese ships that passed through Somali waters from January to November this year. They hijacked 15 vessels and are still holding one of them and 18 crewmen to ransom, Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.

"China's military participation sends a strong political message to the international community, that a China with its improved economic and military strength is willing to play a larger role in maintaining world peace and security," Li said.

However, compared with a number of its foreign counterparts, analysts said China's navy still functions at a comparatively low level. The latest mission will not only see the Chinese navy facing a new maritime situation, it will also demand that the Chinese forces do a good job in patrolling, locating and intercepting pirates, said Peng Guangqian, a Beijing-based military strategist.

Previous page 1 2 Next Page