Commentary: Discreet naval deployment proves shared responsibility of world peace

By Yan Hao, Yu Zheng

BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Chinese media) -- China, the most discreet permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), in response to rampant piracy in the Gulf of Aden, took an unprecedented step in deploying three naval vessels in waters off Somalia to escort merchant vessels.

By sending off the UNSC-authorized task-force, including two of its most sophisticated warships and a supply vessel, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has shown a subtle shift in its predominant focus of territorial defense to a focus of sharing in international responsibility.

Emerging as one of the world's largest economies, China has enjoyed a blossoming of business exchanges with rest of the world. Thus, security of marine routes, particularly in high seas, has become as vital to China as it is to other nations.

The recent pirate attack on a Chinese fishing vessel has captured the attention of the Chinese government and the negotiations between China and the pirates has drawn much public concern.

To date this year, Chinese vessels have been attacked seven times. The frequency of attacks, together with the UNSC authorization, sufficiently legitimizes possible coercive reactions from the PLA Navy.

As efforts to save 18 Chinese hostages through peaceful means continue, the Chinese naval armada is not gunning for a muscular rescue, as its first concern is the absolute safety of the Chinese lives.

The mission is not a military drive to aimlessly retaliate against pirates. Without any landing plans, the fleet commander said their primary mission was to fend off pirates, although he did not rule out possible fire engagement in enforcing the UNSC resolutions.

Economic handicaps and the incapability of a military power projection might largely explain China's reluctance in the past to join similar multi-national efforts.

With its economy booming, China has substantially more resources to allocate for sharing responsibility with the international community.

Regardless of the reasons given by pirates for their crimes, such as taking goods to relieve their own poverty, piracy is a crime akin to terrorism. It is an evil committed against the whole of human society. Therefore, no country should be left alone in fighting against this form of transnational organized crime.

The PLA naval fleet's primary job is to protect merchant vessels that sail from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The fleet will render aid to foreign vessels upon request.

More than 500 years ago, a grandiose Chinese fleet led by the Ming Emperor's envoy Zheng He made goodwill port calls to coasts as far as East Africa.

Today, the deployment of the PLA naval forces once again shows China's goodwill toward fellow nations and its resolve to help make the world a better and safer place.