China to boost efforts in fighting Somalia piracy

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China is expected to ramp up its naval presence off Somalia and will co-lead the international taskforce fighting piracy off the Horn of Africa, naval officers said on Friday.

Naval officers who recently attended a meeting in Beijing of the Shared Awareness and De-confliction (SHADE) grouping which spearheads the anti-piracy fight off Somalia, said China would become a co-chair of the grouping along with the European Union and the multinational Combined Maritime Forces.

"That is a leadership role in terms of making sure that the meetings and the agendas for the meetings are properly coordinated," said Commodore Tim Lowe, the deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces during an international anti-piracy conference in Hong Kong.

"My hope is that perhaps in April or May next year, we would see China taking on that lead coordinator role for the corridor, to provide protection in the corridor," Lowe told Reuters, referring to a five-mile-wide ocean strip which is policed by international warships in the dangerous waters.

Large numbers of Chinese vessels ply the waters off the Horn of Africa, carrying products back to resource and energy-hungry China.

With growing numbers of Chinese vessels coming under the threat of piracy, including a bulk carrier captured last month with 25 crew, Senior Captain Hu Gangfeng of the PLA Navy stressed it was important to take a more "proactive" role and to bolster international naval cooperation.

"We have to fulfil our international obligations and act as a responsible country internationally," said Hu, deputy-director of the Naval Bureau.

The move signals a shift by China's secretive navy of no longer operating independently in the Gulf of Aden but instead taking a more integrated role. It also signals the Chinese navy's growing ambitions beyond Chinese waters.

"China, as a large and strong country, must be able to protect its own ships. We can definitely do this, but if we can enhance international cooperation, this will help improve regional peace and safety," said Liang Wei, the deputy chief of operations for the South Fleet of the PLA navy.