BEIJING, April 4 -- When the Chinese naval frigate Linyi received applause from around the world for an out-of-area operation it conducted around the heart of the Middle East, it demanded reflection on the fear mongering that has too long been associated with the Chinese military's emerging role in the international arena.

In an unprecedented move, the Linyi evacuated 225 non-Chinese citizens from 10 countries from conflict-torn Yemen. Chinese warships earlier rescued another eight non-Chinese nationals while evacuating Chinese citizens.

The operation was "very risky" and the fighting came close to the Chinese warship, a source was quoted by Reuters news agency as saying, adding that "the Chinese ship was in the right place at the right time."

The Chinese military has long been a significant contributor to United Nations peacekeeping missions, and recently sent army doctors to west Africa to fight the Ebola outbreak. In 2013, the navy's state-of-the-art hospital ship, the Peace Ark, went to the Philippines after a deadly typhoon.

This week's operation at the edge of one of the world's most volatile hotspots came at the request of foreign countries and was based on the spirit of humanitarianism. It rightfully deserves credit, and is yet more evidence of the Chinese military's growing contribution to world affairs. "It's good to see China taking more of an interest in this," one senior Western diplomat in Beijing was quoted by Reuters as saying. ' China has long pursued a national defense policy that is purely defensive in nature. Even in the Middle East, from which China imports a lot of oil, the country's diplomacy has more often than not been described as "low-key." The Chinese navy's escort missions in the Gulf of Aden, which provided the Linyi for the evacuation, only came after UN Security Council resolutions were passed and aimed solely at combating piracy to protect civilian passage.

Nevertheless, the Chinese military and, notably, its anti-piracy efforts have often been cast in a negative light. With the five-star red flags hovering over them as they sailed to safety, the foreign evacuees saw otherwise.