Wo ai zhongguo ren

Well now the Somalian pirates have done it.  For the first time in more than 500 years, the Chinese Navy is headed to Africa, specifically the Gulf of Aden.  For some perspective 500 years ago– that’s the Ming Dynasty, meanwhile in Europe Henry VIII is sitting on the English throne and is married to Catherine of Aragon.

The New York Time reports that:  The Piracy Reporting Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said that 110 ships were attacked in the gulf this year, and 42 were hijacked. Fourteen ships are still being held for ransom. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Jianchao, said that 1,265 Chinese commercial vessels passed through the gulf so far this year and that seven were attacked. Pirates still hold a Chinese fishing trawler and 18 crew members, he said.

Seven ships get attacked and they send in a couple of destroyers.  Hmm.  The other reason to send out some naval hardware, the Chinese antipiracy patrol would afford its navy “some very real opportunities for on-the-job training, covering everything from logistics far from home and combat against seaborne opponents to communications and joint operations with other, more experienced navies.”

“If the pirates make direct threats to the warships or the vessels we escort, the fleet will take counter-measures,” Lieutenant-Commander Xie Zengling told Xinhua, bragging that one member of his unit “could handle several enemies with his bare hands”.

Bullets first, Kung Fu later