Naval base a boon to world

Ships carrying People's Liberation Army naval personnel assigned to the Djibouti Logistics Support Base departed from a naval port in Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong province, on Tuesday.

The establishment of the overseas support base, the first of its kind for the Chinese military, is the outcome of friendly negotiations between the governments of China and the African nation and accords with the common interests of the peoples of both countries.

The base's operations will help the Chinese navy better perform its escort, peacekeeping and humanitarian aid missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia, and help boost local economic and social development.