13th Chinese naval escort taskforce returns in triumph

BEIJING, May 24, (ChinaMil) -- The 13th Chinese escort taskforce under the Navy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), which had successfully completed escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somalia coast as well as tasks of visiting five countries in Europe and Africa, smoothly returned to a military port in Zhanjiang of south China's Guangdong province on the morning of the May 23.

During the welcominge ceremony held by the South China Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy, Ding Yiping, deputy commander of the PLA Navy, of the PLA expressed sincere greetings and warm congratulations on behalf of Wu Shengli, commander of the PLA Navy, and Liu Xiaojiang, political commissar of the PLA Navy, to all the officers and men of the taskforce for their successful completion of the missions.

Made up of the "Huangshan" and "Hengyang" guided-missile frigates and the "Qinghai Lake" comprehensive supply ship, the 13th naval escort taskforce departed from Zhanjiang on November 9, 2012 to carry out the escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somalia coast with the total voyage reaching 99,245 nautical miles and safely escorting 166 Chinese and foreign vessels safely escorted in 37 missions. After completing the escort mission, the taskforce embarked on a voyage of goodwill visits to Malta, Algeria, Morocco, Portugal, and France successively.

Jiang Weilie, commander of the South China Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy, Wang Dengping, political commissar of the South China Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy, and others attended the welcome ceremony.

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