China sends navy to fight Somali pirates

Somali Pirates, though ill-equipped, captured 40 vessels in 2008

Three Chinese naval ships, armed with Special Forces, helicopters and missiles, are on their way to join the international anti-piracy task force patrolling the waters off Somalia. They join Indian, Japanese, Russian, American and other international naval forces following the seizures of more than 40 ships and the attacks on many other ships in the vital corridor connecting Europe and Asia shipping routes. Ransom of more than US $30 million has been paid to the pirates by Middle Eastern and other sea cargo companies.

China announced it was joining the anti-piracy mission after the UN Security Council authorized nations to conduct land and air attacks on pi-rate bases in and near Somalia.

This is a strategic show of force from a developing Chinese navy, which usually confines itself to patrolling China’s coastal waters.

It has been spurred into wider action by the escalation of pirate attacks on merchant ships, including Chinese and Thai vessels, along the shipping route linking Asia and Europe. Even cruise ships have been chased by pirates.

China’s willingness to send ships so far from home is the latest example of the growing power and confidence of the country’s navy.

In recent years, the military has been building and buying warships, planes, missiles and other weapons, which has Taiwan and others fearful of Chinese aggression.

The US and Australia have both expressed concern about China’s military build-up and its lack of transparency. Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Prime Minister, warned recently that Asia was in the grip of an arms race. Coupled with the potential for nuclear powers India and Pakistan going to war the area is quite volatile.

Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii, said while the move was a positive sign that China was willing to use its fire power for constructive purposes. It raised unsettling questions over the country’s military buildup.

“The Chinese deployment gets at a question the US and other governments have been asking: ‘Why the big Chinese military buildup when no country threatens China?’ Or more bluntly, ‘Why do the Chinese need a blue-water navy when the US Navy already polices the world’s oceans?’ he asked.

China has said the mission’s purpose was to protect Chinese ships and crews that have come under attack from pirates.

The vessels would also be willing to share intelligence and conduct humanitarian rescue operations with other countries involved in the antipiracy efforts, said Senior Colonel Huang Xue ping, spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense.

The two Chinese destroyers the Haikou and Wuhan will carry Special Forces, two helicopters and traditional weapons such as missiles and canons. Colonel Huang did not say how long the mission will last, but a Communist Party newspaper has said the ships would be away about three months.

Pirates have made an estimated $30 million hijacking ships for ransom this year, seizing more than 40 vessels off Somalia’s 1,880-mile coastline.

On December 21, a German military helicopter rescued an Egyptian ship from pirates who shot and injured a crew member while trying to board the vessel off the Somali coast, said Noel Chong of the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy reporting center.