At 13:30 on December 21, local time, the “Chaohu” guided-missile frigate of the Navy of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) arrived in the waters of the Gulf of Aden to join the fourth Chinese naval escort taskforce and began to implement escort task. This is a measure adopted by the Chinese government in light of the reality of the current escort actions and is a normal arrangement of the escort action of the Chinese PLA Navy.

　　Recently, the attacking area of the pirates is expanding to the waters east to the Somali coast and near Seychelles. Although 40-plus warships from 20-plus countries and international organizations are implementing escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast, they are still unable to ensure the safety of all merchant ships and personnel passing by.

　　Therefore, all the countries which are implementing escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somalia coast have increased their escort warships and intensified their escort efforts one after another. On November 30, the United Nations Security Council held an open meeting and adopted the No. 1897 Resolution, extending the authorization on the efforts of cracking down on pirates and armed plunder in the waters off the Somali coast by 12 months to November 30, 2010.

　　Currently, the escort action of the Chinese PLA Navy has entered the phase of orderly relay and normalized operation. The Chinese PLA Navy will continue to strengthen its exchanges and cooperation with the escort warships of all the countries and protect the safety of China’s important maritime transport line. Meanwhile, it will actively offer necessary humanitarian aid to foreign merchant ships passing by the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somalia coast and will fulfill, as always, the international obligations of a responsible big power.

　　By Xu Yeqing