Somali mission fleet to be replaced in March or April

By Hou Lei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-03-11 16:47

Another Chinese flotilla will set off this month or April to replace the navy's fleet on an anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast, a senior navy official said on Tuesday.

Wu Huayang, deputy commissar of the navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and a deputy to the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) confirmed that the length of the mission for the current fleet is three months and the second fleet will set sail for Somalia in March or April to replace them.

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Last December, China dispatched destroyers the DDG 169 Wuhan and DDG 171 Haikou and supply ship Weishanhu to the Gulf of Aden to join a multinational patrol fleet in the pirate-menaced sea lanes.

Wu praised the current fleet highly, saying it has performed its duty very well.

By March 9, the fleet had carried out 27 escort missions protecting more than 80 vessels in pirate-ridden waters off the Somali coast.

Major General Zhang Deshun said in an exclusive interview with China Daily last week that some officers and soldiers with the current fleet would stay longer to ensure the "consistency and effectiveness of the mission".

Zhang is the deputy chief of staff of the People's Liberation Army Navy.

According to Zhang, the escort mission will not end in the near future as it depends on the political situation in Somalia and whether Somali pirates can be kept away effectively.

Commissar of the Nanhai fleet Huang Jiaxiang told reporters March 11 that more vessels will sail through the pirate-menaced waters from April to September and the weather conditions in this area will worsen in summer.

“The fleet's escort task will be more arduous in the future,” said Huang. He pointed out that contingency plans have been made to cope with all kinds of difficulties for the mission.