Commander-in-chief calls missions in gulf a success ahead of anniversary
In his 201-day stint fighting pirates in the Gulf of Aden in 2012, Cheng Wengang said the most intense mission was picking up 26 hostages who were released after being kidnapped for 19 months.
English: Map showing the location of the Gulf of Aden, located between Yemen and Somalia. Nearby bodies of water include the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
\”I could see they were terrified from their eyes when we finally met at the beach on the Somali coast,\” said Cheng, a 34-year-old helicopter pilot on the 12th Chinese naval escort flotilla.
\”They were skinny with scraggly beards and long, tousled hair. They were barefoot as the pirates took away their shoes in case they escaped.\”
Most of the hostages burst into tears after they boarded the Chinese frigate. Some of them kneeled down and kissed the deck, said Cheng.
\”Two sailors from Vietnam said, \’Thank you, Chinese navy,\’ again and again in Chinese,\” Cheng said.
What Cheng described is just one accomplishment of the Chinese navy during its five-year escort mission in the Gulf of Aden.
Dec 26 is the fifth anniversary of the Chinese fleets\’ escort mission in the Gulf of Aden.
Since 2008, authorized by the United Nations, the navy of the People\’s Liberation Army has sent 16 escort flotillas, including 42 frigates and destroyers, to the gulf. More than 15,000 soldiers and officers have participated in the missions.
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