ALGIERS,¬†April¬†2 (Xinhua) –¬†The¬†13th¬†Escort¬†Taskforce¬†of¬†the¬†Chinese¬†Navy¬†arrived Tuesday¬†in¬†Algiers,¬†capital¬†of¬†Algeria,¬†beginning¬†a¬†four-day¬†visit¬†to¬†the¬†country.
The visit by the escort taskforce, composed of two frigates and one supply ship, is thefirst of its kind made to the nation by a Chinese naval fleet, said Li Xiaoyan,commander of the escort taskforce.
During¬†the¬†visit,¬†Rear¬†Admiral¬†Li¬†will¬†meet¬†with¬†Commander¬†of¬†the¬†Algerian¬†Navy¬†MalekNecib¬†and¬†other¬†Algerian¬†navy¬†officers,¬†and¬†introduce¬†the¬†Chinese¬†Navy’s¬†anti-piracyoperations¬†in¬†the¬†Gulf¬†of¬†Aden¬†and¬†the¬†waters¬†off¬†Somalia.
The Algerian military will organize a delegation to visit the Chinese fleet. Some culturaland sport activities, including a basketball game and a deck reception, are planned tobe held during the visit.
The¬†13th¬†Escort¬†Taskforce¬†has¬†undertaken¬†China’s¬†convoy¬†tasks¬†for¬†a¬†four-monthperiod¬†in¬†the¬†Gulf¬†of¬†Aden¬†and¬†waters¬†off¬†Somalia¬†before¬†it¬†departed¬†the¬†region¬†onMarch¬†18¬†for¬†nation-visiting¬†tasks.
Algeria¬†is¬†the¬†second¬†leg¬†of¬†the¬†fleet’s¬†nation-visiting¬†agenda.¬†The¬†fleet¬†visited¬†Malta¬†on March¬†26-30,¬†and¬†will¬†later¬†visit¬†Morocco,¬†Portugal¬†and¬†France.
Chinese warships have undertaken anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somaliasince December 2008. To date, the Chinese Navy has succeeded in escorting morethan 5,000 merchant ships.
Via: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/
