Today is the 14th anniversary of the Chinese Navy's escort mission in the Gulf of Aden. On December 26, 2008, the first fleet of naval ships blew their horns and set sail.

In view of the characteristics of piracy activities in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali waters and the security situation in the sea area, the Chinese naval escort formation has continuously explored the rules of escort, innovated escort models, optimized escort efficiency, adopted various escort methods, and successfully completed batch after batch of escort missions.

　　On the 25th local time, with the sounding of the three-level anti-piracy deployment alarm, the navy's 1546th batch of escort missions officially began.

Wang Junwei, staff officer of the 42 batches of naval escort formations:

From the accompanying escort of warships, forward response, and extended escort, to the escort of special forces, helicopter air patrol, and then to the integrated coordination of ships, boats, and aircraft, the navy's escort methods continue to expand. Continuous innovation has ensured the success of each batch of escort operations.

　　The Gulf of Aden is the "throat of the sea" 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. It is one of the most dangerous sea areas in the world.

At present, the escort methods adopted by our naval escort formation mainly include escort escort, regional escort and ship escort. The escort escort as the most important escort method is divided into regular escort and on-call escort.

Escorts are regularly accompanied by the formation command post according to the escort schedule specified by the Navy; escorts are called and escorted, and special escorts are implemented according to the needs of the escorted ships.

　　On May 1, 2015, Zhai Mo, the first Chinese sailor around the world, set sail again and retook the Maritime Silk Road. On July 5, Jinan, the 20th naval escort formation, passed through Aden after two days of continuous sailing. In the stormy area in the eastern part of the Gulf, it arrived more than 30 nautical miles northwest of Socotra Island, and performed a special escort for Zhai Mo's team, which was re-taking the Maritime Silk Road.

Captain Zhai Mo:

(I) encountered strong winds of magnitude 7 or 8 on Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean. Our naval escort formation sailed more than 120 nautical miles from the pick-up point A to meet me. I was very excited and very warm .

　　In the spring of 2015, civil war broke out in Yemen.

The 19th escort formation was ordered to suspend the escort and go to evacuate overseas Chinese.

From March 29th to April 7th, the formations Linyi, Weifang, and Weishanhu fought continuously, successively visited 3 countries, 4 ports and 1 island, and dispatched 683 Chinese compatriots and 279 foreign nationals from 15 countries in 5 batches. Citizens safely evacuated from war-torn Yemen.

Guan Qiwu, chief of staff of a destroyer detachment of the Navy:

During the escort process, the missions of the Chinese Navy escort formation are also constantly expanding.

From escorting Chinese ships at the beginning to escorting ships from other countries, and expanding from ocean escort to diversified non-combat military operations, it fully demonstrates China's responsibility as a responsible major country, and demonstrates the comprehensive strength and good image of the Chinese military.

　　So far, the Chinese Navy has dispatched 42 batches of more than 100 ships and tens of thousands of officers and soldiers to the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia for escort missions. A total of more than 1,500 batches of more than 7,100 Chinese and foreign ships have been escorted.

Successfully rescued, rescued and rescued dozens of Chinese and foreign ships in distress, not only praised as a "trustworthy umbrella" by merchant ships of various countries, but also won the respect of foreign naval counterparts.

Zhang Yu, head of a frigate detachment of the Navy:

Over the past 14 years, the escort missions have continued to expand, and more and more foreign ships have voluntarily applied to join the Chinese Navy's escort team. The Chinese Navy has shown the world with a responsible attitude and excellent quality. The Chinese Navy is the most reliable peace force in the Gulf of Aden, capable of providing the international community with more and better public security resources, and making greater contributions to a community with a shared future for mankind.

(CCTV news client)