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CHINA> National
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Chinese navy again escorts Taiwan ship off Somalia
By Wang Hui (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-03-05 22:37 The Chinese navy Wednesday began a 550-nautical-mile escort mission for a Taiwan ship and four other ships through Somali waters to protect them against pirate attacks. They were expected to reach the east estuary of Bab-el-Mandeb (or Mandeb Strait) Friday. Bab-el-Mandeb, which literally means, the "Gate of Tears", is where the Red Sea meets the Arabian Sea, and despite being very difficult to navigate, it is among the busiest shipping channels in the world.
His company Formosa Plastics Corporation filed an application for the escort mission via an agency more than 10 days ago, according to him. The Chinese navy escorted a Taiwan ship in waters off Somalia for the first time on Jan 12. The ship is also owned by Formosa Plastics Corporation. On its 21st escort mission on February 17, 2009, the naval fleet guided 10 Chinese merchant ships and three foreign ones, including "Hermione" from Germany, "Viking Crux" from Singapore and "Princess Nataly" from Cyprus. This was the largest operation of its kind so far. Two navy destroyers and a large supply ship set sail from Sanya, Hainan province, on December 26, 2008, reached the Somali waters on Jan 6, and divided the waters into seven zones, each spanning 550 nautical miles. They offered to escort ships from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as foreign ships on request. |
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