China's Navy Patrol Mission Swaps Ships

The Chinese Navy sent three ships Thursday morning to replace the anti-piracy fleet currently in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia.

The three ships - guided missile frigates Zhoushan and Xuzhou, as well as the large supply vessel Qiandaohu - are under the command of the Navy's East China Sea Fleet based in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. The fleet departed from a naval base near Zhoushan.

Admiral Wu Shengli, commander-in-chief of the People's Liberation Army Navy, said at the departing ceremony that since starting their mission in late December last year, the Chinese navy fleets have escorted more than 550 Chinese and foreign ships on 78 missions and rescued five foreign ships from pirate attacks.

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