Agence France-Presse,
BEIJING: China warned Somali pirates on Tuesday it was prepared to use force when its navy ships arrive in the Gulf of Aden to combat a wave of piracy that has disrupted international shipping.
It is the first time in recent history that China is deploying ships outside the Pacific, sending two destroyers and a supply ship which set sail on Friday, and the navy's deputy chief of staff said they would use force if needed.
“When our naval vessels are ambushed by pirate ships, we will resolutely fight back to protect our own safety,” Rear Admiral Xiao Xinnian said in a briefing to reporters.
“If the act of piracy is already under way and the pirates are already robbing other civilian vessels, we will suppress their acts, provided we have the capability and conditions to do so.”
Xiao said the Chinese ships would mainly be charged with protecting the nation's commercial vessels as well as the ships of international organisations such as the United Nations World Food Programme.
About 100 ships have been attacked by Somali pirates since the beginning of the year, and at least one Chinese vessel is belived to be still in the hands of the attackers.
The admiral said Chinese war ships would investigate any suspect pirate vessels and approach them and demand that they show their relevant documents and certificates.
The UN Security Council last week gave nations a one-year mandate to act inside lawless Somalia to stop the rampant piracy in the Gulf of Aden, part of the Suez Canal route from Europe to Asia without going round Africa.
But some companies are now sailing their vessels around Africa, a longer and thus more expensive route, to avoid the increasingly brazen piracy attacks — including the seizure of a Saudi supertanker with two million barrels of oil.
A spokesman for China's ministry of national defence, Huang Xueping, said China would cooperate with other nations fighting pirates under UN leadership.
“We maintain that the leading and coordinating role of the United Nations should be strengthened and relevant parties should earnestly abide by international law and the concerned UN Security Council resolutions,” he said.
Besides being equipped with guided missiles and cannon, the fleet of three Chinese ships will also carry two helicopters and a detail of special forces, according to Xiao.
