The 13th naval escort squad, sent by the Chinese People's
Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, departed Friday from China
to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters for escort
missions.
The squad, which left a port in Zhanjiang
of south China's
Guangdong Province,
will succeed the 12th escort fleet currently conducting missions in Somali
waters.
The 13th convoy fleet includes the frigates Huangshan and Hengyang,
the supply ship Qinghaihu, two helicopters and an 800-strong troop. The three
ships have all previously conducted escort missions.
Since December 2008, authorized by the United Nations, the
Chinese navy has dispatched 12 fleets to the waters of the Gulf of Aden and
Somali waters to escort more than 4,890 Chinese and foreign ships.
At Friday's farewell ceremony, Wang Zhaohai, deputy
political commissar of the PLA Navy, said the missions have rescued more than
50 Chinese and foreign ships.
Li Xiaoyan, the fleet's commander and deputy chief of staff
of the PLA Navy's South China Sea Fleet, said the 13th escort mission will
continue to ensure the safety of Chinese ships and personnel passing the Gulf
of Aden and Somali waters. It will also assist in the safety of
cargo ships carrying humanitarian goods of the World Food Program and other
international organizations.
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