On December 26, 2008, the Chinese Navy dispatched the first escort fleet to the Gulf of Aden and Somalia. On December 9, 2018, the 31st escort fleet set sail from Zhanjiang, Guangdong, and went to the Gulf of Aden to replace the 30th escort fleet.

Over the past ten years, the escort officers and soldiers have not only safely escorted more than 6,600 Chinese and foreign merchant ships through the Gulf of Aden, but also escorted and rescued many merchant ships attacked and released by pirates, and rushed to war-torn countries such as Libya and Yemen to escort compatriots home, demonstrating the responsibility and commitment of a major country. The Chinese Navy escort fleet has also become a shining business card in the Gulf of Aden.

The 1,194th escorted ship escorted by the 30th Navy escort fleet is the Indian merchant ship "Saranga", which is a temporary escort ship. During the escort, the Wuhu ship escorted the merchant ship.

Yang Kai, the captain of the Wuhu ship of the 30th escort fleet of the Navy, said that during our escort mission, many foreign ships under escort expressed their gratitude to our escort fleet through the Internet and radio. The Chinese Navy has won the trust of more and more countries with practical actions, and demonstrated the image and responsibility of a great power navy in the Gulf of Aden.

The Gulf of Aden is a maritime throat located between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. Tens of thousands of merchant ships from various countries pass through the Gulf of Aden every year. Due to rampant piracy, it is one of the most dangerous waters in the world. On December 26, 2008, the Chinese Navy sent the first escort fleet to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters to perform escort missions.

In January 2009, the first escort fleet received an emergency call for help from a Greek merchant ship. The fleet immediately sent a helicopter carrying special operations personnel to fly over the merchant ship and successfully rescued the Greek merchant ship besieged by pirate speedboats. In the Gulf of Aden, the Chinese Navy's escort fleet has become a shining business card, and more and more foreign merchant ships have actively sought the protection of the Chinese Navy.

On the evening of April 8, 2017, the 25th escort fleet received a notification from the British Maritime Trade Organization: the Tuvalu-registered OS35 cargo ship was hijacked by pirates in the northwest waters of Socotra Island in the Gulf of Aden, and the number of pirates was unknown.

He Luyang, the then captain of the Yulin ship of the 25th Navy escort fleet, said that we attacked at high speed after receiving this order. During the process, we contacted the OS35 ship and sailed around the merchant ship according to tactical requirements to observe the entire situation of the merchant ship.

In the early morning of the 9th, 16 special warfare members boarded the OS35 in a small boat under the air cover of our carrier-based aircraft to launch a rescue operation.

Li Wei, a propaganda officer of a destroyer detachment of the Southern Theater Command Navy, said that when we went up, there were 10 special warfare members at the beginning. The first thing the 10 special warfare members did after going up was to control the commanding heights, that is, to control the cab.

Gong Kaifeng, the company commander of a Marine Corps brigade, said that we went up at the stern of the ship, which had been burned. The entire stern behind the cabin was set on fire by them, so it was in a mess.

Li Wei, the propaganda officer of a destroyer detachment of the Southern Theater Command Navy, said that after kicking it open, he really found movement inside, and there was a sound of guns rubbing against this plastic hard shell. Then, the platoon leader (Gong Kaifeng) shouted loudly: "Hands up, no harm!" That is, "Raise your hands, we won't hurt you." Then, the three pirates immediately surrendered when they saw that the situation was not right.

With the support of carrier-based aircraft, air forces and boats, the special operations team quickly rescued 19 crew members from the safe cabin. Over the past 10 years, the Chinese Navy escort fleet has rescued, received and assisted more than 70 Chinese and foreign ships in distress, and verified and expelled about 3,000 suspected pirate ships.

While escorting merchant ships of various countries, the Chinese Navy's escort fleet actively undertakes diversified tasks and stands up at critical moments time and time again. In September 2013, the Yancheng ship of the 16th Chinese Navy escort fleet went to the Mediterranean to complete the escort mission of 7 batches of Syrian chemical weapons. In December 2014, Male', Maldives encountered a fresh water crisis. The Chinese Navy's Changxingdao ship, which was performing an escort mission in the Indian Ocean, changed its course and sent more than 600 tons of fresh water to Male'.

Hu Jinkai, captain of the diving area of the Navy's Changxingdao ship, said that we saved some water for them to drink. We think that it is not something else, it is just a very normal thing, just a mutual help between friends.

In the 10 years of escort, the Chinese Navy has not been afraid of hardships and dangers, and has fought against wind and waves, making important contributions to ensuring the security of important international trade channels and maintaining world peace and stability.

Military expert Zhang Junshe said that the Chinese Navy's escort fleet has been escorting for ten years, which has also effectively demonstrated to the international community that China is a responsible major country, because during this period, the Chinese Navy has carried out many humanitarian rescue operations, which is not a threat to the development of the Chinese military, but a blessing for world peace and stability.

In the past ten years, the Chinese Navy's escort in the Gulf of Aden has won universal praise from the international community, and has gradually become an important and trustworthy force to guard peace in the Gulf of Aden. It has created many firsts in the history of naval escort and left many unforgettable moments.

The first escort fleet

On December 26, 2008, the first fleet of ships composed of Wuhan, Haikou and Weishanhu set sail from Sanya to the Somali waters of the Gulf of Aden to perform escort missions. This is the first time that China has used military forces to go overseas to safeguard national strategic interests, fulfill international humanitarian obligations and protect the safety of important transportation lines.

First escort operation

On January 6, 2009, the first escort fleet began to carry out its first escort mission, accompanying and escorting four Chinese merchant ships. On January 29, the escort fleet rescued a Greek merchant ship that was besieged by pirate ships for the first time.

First joint escort with foreign forces

In September 2009, the Navy's third escort fleet carried out a joint escort mission with the Russian Navy for the first time and jointly organized a joint anti-piracy exercise.

First Special Service Award for Shipping and Humanity

On November 23, 2009, Wuhan, Haikou, Shenzhen, Huangshan, and Weishanhu were awarded the "Special Service Award for Shipping and Humanity" by the International Maritime Organization.

First armed rescue of hijacked merchant ship

On November 20, 2010, special forces of the 7th escort fleet boarded the attacked Chinese special transport ship "Tai'ankou" and drove away the pirates. All crew members were rescued safely.

First participation in multinational maritime joint military exercise

On March 7, 2011, the 8th escort fleet's Wenzhou and Ma'anshan ships conducted a maritime joint military exercise with multiple countries in Karachi Port.

First escort for the World Food Program ship

On March 24, 2011, the 8th escort fleet's Ma'anshan ship safely escorted the World Food Program ship to the waters of Boosaaso Port by accompanying escort and escorting on board.

First escort for Syrian chemical weapons ships

On December 31, 2013, the Yancheng ship of the 16th escort fleet formed a joint escort fleet with the Russian cruiser, and strengthened contact with the Danish and Norwegian ships. After entering the Syrian territorial waters, they organized an escort fleet with the Danish, Norwegian and Russian ships according to the plan and began to escort Syrian chemical weapons ships.

First evacuation of Chinese and foreign citizens from Yemen

On March 26, 2015, the 19th escort fleet was ordered to go to Yemen, and completed the evacuation of 897 Chinese and foreign citizens in three countries, creating the first record of Chinese warships directly berthing at foreign ports to evacuate Chinese citizens, the first time to carry out the evacuation of foreign citizens, and the first time to evacuate Chinese citizens under the threat of battlefield artillery fire.

The first global visit of the escort fleet

On April 3, 2015, after completing the escort mission, the 152-ship fleet consisting of the Jinan, Yiyang and Qiandao Lake ships went to Egypt, Sweden, the United States, Cuba, Australia and other 13 countries for a global visit. The mission lasted 309 days, sailing through three oceans and five continents, and berthing in 16 countries and 18 ports. The mission¡¯s long voyage, wide sea area, long time span and many visited countries are all the highest in the history of the People¡¯s Navy.

The first armed rescue of a ship attacked by pirates

On April 9, 2017, the 25th escort fleet rescued a hijacked Tuvalu cargo ship. 16 special forces boarded the cargo ship under cover, rescued all the crew members from the safety cabin, and captured 3 pirates.

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