Chinese Ships Join Pirate Hunt
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Dave Schuler | Friday, December 26, 2008 |
Three Chinese ships will join the ships of several nations including the United States off the coast of Somalia trying to stem the outbreak of piracy in the region:
BEIJING (AFP) — An anti-piracy task force of the Chinese navy set sail on Friday for Africa, in the nation’s first potential combat mission beyond its territorial waters in centuries.
The three vessels, decorated with coloured ribbons and flowers, weighed anchor at the Yalong Bay naval base on south China’s tropical Hainan island at 1:50 pm (0550 GMT), heading for Somalia, the Xinhua news agency reported.
“It’s the first time we go abroad to protect our strategic interests armed with military force,” said Wu Shengli, commander of the Chinese Navy, in a ceremony to see off the approximately 1,000 sailors, according to Xinhua.
“It’s the first time for us to organise a naval force on an international humanitarian mission and the first time for our navy to protect important shipping lanes far from our shores.”
The ships include two Luhai-class multi-role destroyers and one supply ship. Deployment of the Chinese navy in action far from home waters is an historic development—it’s been five hundred years since a Chinese ship has fired a shot in anger in African waters.
I see China’s increasing willingness to participate in global security operations as a positive development. Others, who see China as more of a threat to U. S. interests than I do, may interpret this differently.
About the Author: Over the years Dave Schuler has worked as a martial arts instructor, a handyman, a musician, a cook, and a translator. He's owned his own company for the last thirty years and has a post-graduate degree in his field. He comes from a family of politicians, teachers, and vaudeville entertainers. All-in-all a pretty good preparation for blogging.
He has contributed to OTB since November 2006 but mostly writes at his own blog, The Glittering Eye.
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Interesting that those ships might have US (General Electric) engines (last paragraph).
I doubt it. The Luhu-class ships have (or had) GE gas turbines. The Luhai-class destroyers almost certainly have Russian or Ukrainian motors.
I might have missed the luhu/luhai shift in that paragraph. I was amazed enough at the US engines being in any Chinese warships.
I have seen the Chinese involvement as inevitable. I think they will be cautious at first, then expand. As always, they will act in their own interest, and we will find that good and bad.
Steve
The Chinese have also helped protect the Panama Canal by purchasing facilities at both ends of it with the surpluses generated by their US trade agreements..
I'm fine with it. The more ships patrolling in the Gulf of Aden against piracy, the better.
Remember when Clinton visited PRC? He took 5 C-5A Cargo planes with him. I doubt a C-5 could carry that turbine in one piece, however it could carry all of the necessary parts to assemble one. That in addition to the computer hardware and software to design and deploy MIRVed ballistic missles with miniturized warheads. Thanks Bill. I see by the Gallup poll you are very popular. That is because history has not yet revealed all that you have done. For Democrats, anything to gain wealth and anything to get elected. No ethics, morals or beliefs except global warming. If the Chinese can sink the pirates. Good.
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