12th Chinese naval escort taskforce returns home

　The 12th Chinese escort taskforce under the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) composed of the "Yiyang" guided missile frigate, the "Changzhou" guided missile frigate and the "Qiandao Lake" comprehensive supply ship returned to a military port in Zhoushan City of east China's Zhejiang province on the morning of January 19, 2013. In the past 201 days, covering a total voyage of 12,449 nautical miles, the taskforce had wrapped up its escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast and its visit to Australia and Vietnam.

The PLA Navy and the East China Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy held a grand welcome ceremony at the port at around 10:00. On behalf of Wu Shengli, member of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and commander of the PLA Navy, and Liu Xiaojiang, political commissar of the PLA Navy, Wang Zhaohai, deputy political commissar of the PLA Navy, extended his warm welcome and sincere greetings to all the returned officers and men of the taskforce. Feng Zhenglin, deputy minister of the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Su Zhiqian and Ding Haichun, respectively commander and political commissar of the East China Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy, and leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC were present at the welcome ceremony.

The 12th Chinese naval escort taskforce accomplished 46 escort missions for 204 Chinese and foreign ships, checked and expelled 62 suspected pirate boats in 35 batches, continuing the record of 100% safety of the escorted ships and the taskforce itself in the escort missions of the PLA Navy.

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