By Tang Siyu and Sun Fei
GULF of ADEN, June 2 -- The 43rd and 44th Chinese naval escort taskforces recently held a mission handover ceremony in the Gulf of Aden. The 44th Chinese naval escort taskforce has officially succeeded the 43rd taskforce to perform escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia.
At the handover ceremony, staffs of the 43rd Chinese naval escort taskforce briefed the successors on the current situation and escort experience in the region, and transferred the relevant materials. The two taskforces also exchanged views on foreign military coordination, skills training and other subjects.
It is learned that the 43rd taskforce has completed escort tasks for 21 ships in 16 batches. In late April, the guided-missile destroyer Nanning and the comprehensive supply ship Weishanhu attached to the task force were dispatched in emergency to evacuate Chinese people from conflict-torn Sudan.
As for the 44th Chinese naval escort taskforce, since its departure from Zhoushan Port of China’s Zhejiang Province on April 28, it has organized a series of targeted training on anti-terrorist and anti-piracy, hijacked ship rescue by force and nighttime helicopter landing practice under complex sea conditions along the way, aiming to improve its capability in carrying out escort missions.
