A Chinese three-ship fleet, consisting of destroyer Wuhan and Haikou, and the supply ship Weishanhu, in an anti-piracy mission at the Gulf of Aden in April 2009. (Photo: China News Service/Li Tang) The Chinese Navy began escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia in December 2008. In the past 10 years, the Chinese Navy has sent out 26,000 officers and soldiers, escorted 6,595 ships and successfully rescued or aided more than 60 Chinese and foreign ships.