PLA Navy Escort Mission in the Gulf of Aden

	PLA Navy destroyer Wuhan escorting a China Shipping Line container ship in the Gulf of Aden (Chinese Internet)

Since the beginning of the Somalia’s Civil War in the early 1990s, piracy off the Somali coast has been a threat to the international shipping. The situation worsened in 2008, with 95 attacks including 39 successful hijackings reported in the first eleven months. Most of these attacks took place in the Gulf of Aden. On 7 October 2008, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1838 calling on nations with vessels in the area to apply military force to repress the acts of piracy

The Gulf of Aden region is of key strategic importance for China whose economy depends heavily upon a secure supply of oil and raw materials from abroad. 4~5 Chinese ships pass through the busy channel every day. In 2008 alone, there were seven pirate attack incidents involving Chinese ships near the Somali coast. On 14 November, a Chinese fishing ship Tianyu No.8 was seized by Somali pirates armed with grenade launchers and automatic weapons while fishing off the coast of Kenya. The 24 crew aboard the abducted ship of Tianjin Ocean Fishing Company included 15 Chinese, a Taiwanese, a Japanese, three Filipinos and four Vietnamese.

On 17 December 2008, the Chinese cargo ship Zhenhua No.4 was attacked by Somali pirates in the Horn of Africa on its way back to Shanghai. The pirates, armed with rocket launchers and automatic rifles, boarded the ship and attempted to seize control when the crew of 30 fought back using water cannons, Molotov cocktails and beer bottles. After responding to the crew's radio for help, a Malaysian warship, Sri Indera Sakti and Malaysian military helicopter arrived and fired on the pirates, who fled the scene. No crew members were injured.

In December 2008, Chinese state media reported for the first time that China was to send navy task forces to escort its ships in the Gulf of Aden region. This was the first time ever that China deployed naval force to overseas for an operational mission in modern history. TV footages was broadcasted showing PLA Navy special forces in anti-piracy exercise. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao, said on 18 December that piracy had become a serious threat to shipping, trade and safety on the seas, and that’s why the Chinese government decided to send naval ships to crack down on piracy.

On 26 December 2008, a naval task force consists of two destroyers, Wuhan (169) and Haikou (171), and a replenishment ship Weishanhu (887), left the Sanya port in Hainan for the deployment in the Gulf of Aden. The task force, headed by Rear Admiral Du Jingchen, has a total strength of over 880 personnel, including a small special operation team.

The task force arrived at the Gulf of Aden on 6 January 2009, and immediately carried out its first escort mission for four Chinese ships, including one registered in Hong Kong. By mid-April, they had carried out 41 escort missions for over 200 Chinese and foreign merchant ships, and successfully rescued three merchant ships under piracy attacks.

On 13 April, the naval task force was joined by the destroyer Shenzhen (167) and frigate Huangshan (570), which left the Zhanjiang Naval Base on 2 April to the Gulf of Aden. After a joint escort mission on 15 April, Wuhan and Haikou left the task force and returned to China. They arrived at the Sanya Naval Base on 28 April.

Last update: 1 May 2009