BEIJING — China signaled Wednesday that it may send warships to help fight pirates off the coast of Somalia, a sign of Beijing's increasing willingness to flex its military muscle.
Although China has participated in United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa, its navy has seldom left the Pacific region. The Global Times, a newspaper tied to the ruling Communist Party, called the possible deployment China's "biggest naval expedition since the 15th century."
China's deputy foreign minister, He Yafei, was quoted by the state news agency as saying that China was "seriously considering sending naval ships to the Gulf of Aden and waters off the Somali coast for escorting operations in the near future."
The remarks during a ministerial meeting of the U.N. Security Council were the first by a senior Chinese official confirming widespread speculation voiced in recent weeks.
The state-controlled press has been rallying support for such a mission with editorials that refer to China's "responsibility" as well as to what the English-language China Daily called an opportunity to "get into the thick of the action." An online poll published by the newspaper today reported that 90% of respondents supported the mission.
China is the only permanent member of the Security Council that has not joined the U.S. in a growing international fleet fighting a brazen wave of piracy launched from Somalia's shores. Among other participants are Denmark, Greece, Turkey, Italy and Malaysia.
"As part of the U.N. Security Council, China has the responsibility to maintain the international peace and security. It also has to do so to protect its own interests," said Liu Naiya, an Africa specialist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. "Fighting piracy is consistent with the global war against terrorism."
For the Chinese, the urgency of the mission was underscored by an attack Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden on a ship owned by the China Communications Construction Co. The 30 crew members barricaded themselves in their cabins until they were rescued by a multinational force that reportedly swooped in with helicopters. Two other Chinese ships have been attacked since mid-November.
The Global Times reported today that two naval destroyers and a large depot ship would leave the port of Sanya on the South China Sea for an initial deployment of three months in the Gulf of Aden.
