BEIJING, Dec. 18, 2008
Pirates Make New Enemy: China
Beijing Will Dispatch Naval Warships To Battle Somali Pirates In Gulf Of Aden
-
(CBS)
Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Beijing welcomed stronger international cooperation in countering piracy, which has become a major problem in the Gulf of Aden off the Somali coast, one of the world's busiest waterways.
"China is actively considering sending warships to participate in convoy actions in the Somali sea and Gulf of Aden. China is now actively preparing for this," Liu said without elaborating on details of the mission. He said formal information would be released later.
The mission would be a first for the Chinese navy, which has mainly concentrated on coastal defense and not protection of ships in overseas waters.
The Global Times, a newspaper published by the Communist Party, said the fleet could consist of two cruisers and one large supply ship.
(CBS/AP)
China's participation comes after a unanimous U.N. Security Council vote to authorize nations to conduct land and air attacks on the increasingly audacious pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
Citing data from the Kenya-based East Africa Seafarers Assistance Program, Liu said 300 ships were attacked by pirates last year in that area. More than 40 ships were hijacked in the first 11 months of this year.
During the same period, 1,265 Chinese ships have passed through the area - an average of three to four a day, he said. About 20 percent of them have come under attack, Liu said.
This year, there have been seven cases of pirate attacks involving Chinese ships or crews, he said, including a Chinese cargo ship attacked Wednesday off the coast of Somalia. The crew of the Zhenhua 4 was rescued with the help of an international piracy force.
The ship, which belongs to the China Communications Construction Co., came under attack by nine armed pirates who boarded the vessel, Liu said.
State media reported the crew fought back using a high pressure water hose and Molotov cocktails before retreating to their cabins.
Crew members also sent a distress call to the Malaysia-based International Maritime Bureau, which alerted an international naval force that sent two helicopters and a warship to the rescue.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
More From World
Add a Comment See all 59 Comments
- I am a cheerleader for China. Since they quit Communism I want to see them do well.
Posted by runningralph at 10:54 AM : Dec 19, 2008
Taiwan Republic of China quit Communism, not China Republic of China, they are still Communist!
Posted by spinproof at 03:21 PM : Dec 19, 2008
-----------------------------
China''s success comes at the expense of America and American jobs! In the U.S. our Laws give Americans a legal binding minimum wage, workman compensation when workers get hurt on the job, vacation time off, reasonable working hours and basically 5 working days with 2 days off a week on average and legal recourse when mistreated. Businesses who hire workers in the U.S. are also required to create a safe workplace and must establish workplace safety. All of this adds to cost, especially when workers are given Medical and Retirement benefits which raises the standard of living in the U.S., Businesses who don''t adhere to these U.S. Laws are punished. However allowing businesses to bypass all of these U.S. Laws and set up sweat shops in China, Mexico and other poor nations and abuse poor workers, exploit child labor, pay wages of $2 a day for 14 hour work days puts Americans at a severe disadvantage and should not be allowed. What is the point of American Labor Laws that can be easily bypassed by shipping the work overseas? - Reply to this comment
- I am a cheerleader for China. Since they quit Communism I want to see them do well.
Posted by runningralph at 10:54 AM : Dec 19, 2008
Taiwan Republic of China quit Communism, not China Republic of China, they are still Communist!
Posted by spinproof at 03:21 PM : Dec 19, 2008
-----------------------------
Please, China is barely communist. The only thing about them that is communist is their 1 party system. Over all their economy is completely capitalist, we just need to adjust a few things & then welcome to full fledged capitalism China!
Posted by xalen54 at 03:51 PM : Dec 20, 2008
China is a hybrid nation, Communist at its core using Capitalist business fronts to fund the Communist Party agenda! The bulk of China''s Capitalist businesses fund the massive Chinese military build up which has proceeded unabated for over a decade at an alarming rate and break neck pace. Traditional Capitalist businesses in many nations fund their owners and their agenda, but in the case of mainland China, revenue from Capitalist business funds China''s Communist Party and China''s military buildup! China is faking the world out with its fake Capitalism since its linked to the Chinese Government and not Chinese citizens! There is nothing Democratic about China except smoke and mirrors! - Reply to this comment
- I am a cheerleader for China. Since they quit Communism I want to see them do well.
Posted by runningralph at 10:54 AM : Dec 19, 2008
Taiwan Republic of China quit Communism, not China Republic of China, they are still Communist!
Posted by spinproof at 03:21 PM : Dec 19, 2008
-----------------------------
Please, China is barely communist. The only thing about them that is communist is their 1 party system. Over all their economy is completely capitalist, we just need to adjust a few things & then welcome to full fledged capitalism China! - Reply to this comment
- what these pirates must understand....there are NO LIBERALS in china to save them.
- Reply to this comment
- I am a cheerleader for China. Since they quit Communism I want to see them do well.
Posted by runningralph at 10:54 AM : Dec 19, 2008
Taiwan Republic of China quit Communism, not China Republic of China, they are still Communist! - Reply to this comment
- If the United States Navy is unwilling or unable to stop the pirates of Somalia, we Americans should thank the naval forces of China for doing so.
Posted by dennisgreen5
With the United Nastions endorsement we can now try and stop the pirates without appearing to do so unilaterally or as a rogue nation. This has always been a criticism of President Bush going into Iraq without the support of the world powers. - Reply to this comment
- The Chinese are NOT going to let anything get in the way of poisoning our pets and maiming our children with lead and toxic paint! They won''t stand for it I tell you!
- Reply to this comment
- I am a cheerleader for China. Since they quit Communism I want to see them do well. I welcome them to the fray against jihad. I would remind them that pirates have been wreaking havoc in the Straits of Malacca for decades. The Straits of Malacca are in their sphere of influence and it would be a good place for them to exert force. Jihad must be met on all fronts.
- Reply to this comment
- What happened to the cry:
America isn''t the world''s police? - Reply to this comment
- If the United States Navy is unwilling or unable to stop the pirates of Somalia, we Americans should thank the naval forces of China for doing so.
- Reply to this comment
- This story is misleading. This isn''t the first time China has sent a naval force on an overseas mission- it''s just the first time they''ve done so since the 15th century. Interesting that CBS neglects that in the story. I wonder what bits they''ve left out of other stories they''ve reported on?
- Reply to this comment
- I''m not real comfortable with giving the Peoples Republic of China UN sanctioned on the job training for operating a true blue water navy with power projection. Once they acquire the taste for operating outside their traditional periphery they aren''t likely to give it up. This will probably come back to bite us in a few years.
- Reply to this comment
- FROM THE ARTICLE
Citing data from the Kenya-based East Africa Seafarers Assistance Program, Liu said 300 ships were attacked by pirates last year in that area. More than 40 ships were hijacked in the first 11 months of this year.
During the same period, 1,265 Chinese ships have passed through the area - an average of three to four a day, he said. About 20 percent of them have come under attack, Liu said.
Interesting MATH there guys!!
By that calculation, 250 of the 300 ships were Chinese!
NOT! - Reply to this comment
- We may have shipped all our jobs overseas but we have also shipped alot of our pollution overseas.
Its a lose/win situation!
Posted by used2bfedup1 at 05:13 PM : Dec 18, 2008
Yes, the American worker can now breathe a lot easier as they take customers'' orders out of McDonald''s takeout window. - Reply to this comment
- It has been learned that the Chinese Navy will begin patroling the Gulf of Aden searching for Somali pirates.
Their navy will now join the Indian navy in searching for pirates and protecting shipping.
Of course, the Great Emperor Bush II would like to send the US Navy, if he were to remain Emperor for another 4 years, but he is just too busy right now packing his "lost" e-mails and shipping them to his Library in Texas.
Besides, the Great Emperor Bush is not concerned about "policing" the high seas, but with how much money he will make on speaking engagements to those neocon Fascist Nazis stupid enough to listen to him!
SIG HEIL, I INTEND ON MAKING TONS OF MONEY BABBLING ABOUT HOW "GOOD" I AM!!!, BUSH!!! - Reply to this comment
- jsd330, The world has had enough of Black Water Worldwide. The Chinese Navy should be allowed to blast them out of the water as well, they are nothing more than pirates.
- Reply to this comment
- Chinese warships, you mean Russian navy antiques. Let the ship owners pay Blackwater, then the piracy will come to an end.
- Reply to this comment
- From the reports I''ve seen, the prates that attacked the Chinese ship were driven off, but not apprehended or destroyed.
All that will change now; Chinese Navy, no mess around. You see. - Reply to this comment
- The pirates messed with the wrong ship and wrong country China will shoot them dead execution style and then discard their stinking bodies to the ocean.
- Reply to this comment
- I love it! Now that the Chinese are involved some thing will actually get done about the problem. No political brick a brack. Just blow them out of the water.
- Reply to this comment
