Posted on Sat, Dec. 27, 2008 

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China sends warships to combat pirates

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Xinhua/Zha Chunming via ap

Chinese navy special forces carry out an anti-pirate drill on the deck of a destroyer in Sanya, China, on Thursday. Two Chinese destroyers left China for Somali waters Friday. Xinhua/Zha Chunming via ap

GUANGZHOU, China — Chinese warships headed toward Somali waters Friday to combat piracy, the first time the communist country has sent ships on a mission that could involve fighting so far beyond its territorial waters.

The deployment to the Gulf of Aden, which has been plagued by increasingly bold pirate attacks in recent months, marks a major step in the navy’s evolution from mostly guarding China’s coasts to patrolling waters far from home.

The move was welcomed by the U.S. military, which has been escorting cargo ships in the region along with India, Russia and the European Union. But analysts predict that the Chinese intervention could be troubling to some Asian nations that might see it as a sign of the Chinese military becoming more aggressive.

The naval force that set sail from southern Hainan on Friday afternoon included a supply ship and two destroyers — armed with guided missiles, special forces and two helicopters.

China announced Tuesday that it was joining the anti-piracy mission after the U.N. Security Council authorized nations to conduct land and air attacks on pirate bases.

A Pentagon spokesman, Maj. Stewart Upton, said the U.S. welcomes China’s move.

Pirates working out of Somalia have made an estimated $30 million this year, seizing more than 40 vessels off the country’s 1,880-mile coastline. Most of the attacks have occurred in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

Deploying ships to the area helped stoke national pride among Chinese who feel that their increasingly wealthy nation should be playing a bigger role in world affairs.

For several decades, China has kept a huge army focused on protecting its land borders, while the country’s navy was relatively weak.

But in recent years, as China became more deeply involved in the global economy, it concluded that a stronger navy was needed to protect its increasingly vital sea shipments of oil, raw materials and other goods.