PLA Navy beefs up anti-piracy effort

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) navy is all set to dispatch two ships to the Gulf of Aden on Thursday to aid international efforts to combat piracy off the waters near Somalia, a senior naval commander told reporters here on Wednesday.

Destroyer Guangzhou and supply ship Weishanhu will set sail from the port of Sanya in Hainan province and will be joined by frigate Chaohu, which had been dispatched to the region in December to complement the fourth batch of ships, Zhang Wendan, senior colonel and deputy chief of staff of China's South Sea Fleet said.

More ships are also likely to be deployed in future, as the threat posed by Somali pirates has not abated.

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