China Navy: Guardians of the Sea

By+staff+reporter+HOU+RUILI

THE 20th Chinese naval escort taskforce took over the escort mission in the Gulf of Aden from the 19th escort taskforce on April 22， 2015. Since the end of 2008， under the authorization of the UN Security Council and the consent of the Somali government， China has carried out all such escort missions in the Gulf of Aden. To date， over 50 Chinese naval ships have been dispatched to the region and the taskforce has fulfilled over 800 missions of escorting more than 5，000 Chinese and foreign vessels.

Anti-Piracy Force

The missions are fraught with risks. On November 20， 2010， the Taiankou， a merchant ship from China， was hijacked by four armed pirates. Rescuers from another country were unable to reach the stricken vessel， coming under a hail of bullets from the pirates. On hearing of the emergency， the Chinese taskforce immediately set in motion its anti-hijack contingency plan by sending two speed boats and a helicopter carrying four soldiers to the site. Twenty-one sailors on the ship were finally rescued.

Li Zhenhua， one of the heads of the escort taskforce， shared his experience in the Gulf of Aden. On August 28， 2012， when Lis team was escorting a merchant ship， a flotilla of pirates in 14 speed boats headed towards the ship. Li and his team immediately set out by helicopter. They flew close to the pirates and conducted reconnaissance. After a confrontation lasting a few minutes， they fired warning shots at the pirates， who hastily flung their weapons into the sea and fled.

“We have had dozens of incidences like this during our missions， six of which were extremely dangerous，” Li recalled. “Weve had confrontations with pirates at close quarters， less than a hundred meters on some occasions. We are always aware that pirates can open fire at any time， but we have never considered turning back.”

Humanitarian Aid

On May 6， 2014， an Italian merchant ship carrying automobiles and other goods from the UAE to Salerno Port， Italy， suddenly slowed down and reported that the ship was on fire. The crew included 10 Italians， five Ukrainians， and one Romanian.

The fire rapidly intensified and the crew deployed lifeboats to escape. The Chinese naval escort taskforce wasted no time in sending small boats to rescue the crew and simultaneously posted the latest situation on a counter-piracy website to keep everyone informed on how the rescue was going. The whole operation took over one hour. Eventally， the crew were safely transferred to China navys Chaohu ship where Chinese healthcare personnel examined them. One of the crew was suffering from dyspnea and received immediate medical treatment.endprint

Later， on learning that the closest Italian warship was 1，600 nautical miles away from the trapped ship， the Chinese escort taskforce contacted Italian coastguards via the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center. It confirmed that the crew would be taken back by a nearby Italian merchant ship. The captain of the trapped ship expressed his gratitude to the China escort squad， saying how impressed he was by the capability of the Chinese navy.

Joint Efforts

The China escort taskforce has set up exchange mechanisms， such as information sharing and commanders meetings， with other task groups from the U.S.， EU and NATO. Furthermore， joint anti-piracy drills among these groups have been carried out. These measures are aimed at enhancing joint rescue and combat capacity.

The Chinese and U.S. navies conducted their first joint anti-piracy drill in the Gulf of Aden on September 17， 2012. Li Zhenhua was the commander of one team. Observing the members from the U.S. side climbing aboard the ship in a rescue simulation， Li found that some of the taller and heftier members slowed the speed of the whole team. He made a prompt decision to change the order of those embarking the ship to allow the faster climbers to go first. This small change saved time and won the admiration of the U.S. side. Even the slightest delay in boarding a ship during a rescue mission could cost lives.

In March 2013， the AMAN-13 multinational naval exercise began on the waters off Pakistan. It involved ships from 14 countries including China， Pakistan， the U.S.， and the U.K. with 24 naval vessels and 25 airplanes.

Later， in July 2014， Chinas escort taskforce and its EU counterpart conducted a joint anti-piracy drill codenamed Venus 2 in the Gulf of Aden. The drill， led alternately by Chinese and EU commanders， was mainly composed of seven areas including maneuvering， maritime replenishment， light signaling， and anti-ship missiles.

According to Huang Xinjian， commanding officer of the Chinese naval escort taskforce， the two sides learned from the drill how to command and act together in the fight against piracy. The drill also beefed up bilateral exchanges and cooperation as well as joint capabilities to perform escort missions.

Expanded Missions

China escort squads have also been taking part in missions for world peace and development. In 2010， China extended its anti-piracy mission to assist the EU fleet in escorting World Food Program （WFP） ships carrying humanitarian supplies.endprint

On May 24， 2014， Chinas guided missile destroyer Changchun completed a successful escort mission with Nawa 3， a ship belonging to the WFP， which reached the sea area near Somalias Bossaso Port. It was the eighth occasion on which the Chinese naval escort taskforce had escorted a WFP ship.

In addition， China provided an escort for the maritime transportation of Syrias chemical weapons for destruction in response to a call from the international community.

On January 7， 2014， Chinas frigate Yancheng entered the territorial waters of Syria and started its mission in close coordination with naval vessels from Russia， Denmark， and Norway. During her visit to the frigate on January 22， 2014， Sigrid Kaag， special coordinator of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations Joint Mission， commended Chinese soldiers and officers on board. She said that by engaging in the shipping and escort mission， China had fulfilled its strong commitment to world peace and security as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.endprint