From AFP:
An anti-piracy task force of the Chinese navy set sail Friday for Africa, state media said, in the nation’s first potential combat mission beyond its territorial waters in centuries.
The three vessels, decorated with coloured ribbons, flags and flowers, weighed anchor at the Yalong Bay naval base on south China’s tropical Hainan island at 1:50 pm (0550 GMT), heading for Somalia, the Xinhua news agency said.
“It’s the first time we go abroad to protect our strategic interests armed with military force,” said Wu Shengli, commander of the Chinese Navy, in a ceremony to see off the approximately 1,000 sailors, according to Xinhua.
Read also China targets pirates in groundbreaking mission by William Foreman.
