Chinese escort fleet to guard Gulf of Aden

The eighth escort fleet of the Chinese navy departed on Monday from Zhoushan in eastern China's Zhejiang Province to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters to conduct escort missions.

The escort fleet includes three ships named the Wenzhou, the Maanshan and the Qiandaohu. It is equipped with two ship-based helicopters, dozens of specially-trained units and more than 800 crewmembers, according to Han Xiaohu, the fleet commander and also deputy chief of East China Sea Fleet.

This is the fleet's fourth escort mission, and over past missions it escorted 660 Chinese and foreign ships, rescued three attacked ships and met four released ships.

By Liang Jun, People's Daily Online