The Russian and Chinese navies have joined forces in anti-piracy patrols off the Somali coast and will stage joint exercises this week, Chinese state media said Thursday. China's three-ship flotilla began running joint patrols with Russian ships on September 10, the official Xinhua News Agency said in a dispatch from the Gulf of Aden.
It said the exercises, titled "Blue Peace Shield 2009," will take place Friday and include tests of communications links, simulated missions to identify ships from helicopters, co-ordinated resupply efforts, and live firing of deck guns. Co-operation with the Russian navy marks a further step toward greater openness by the People's Liberation Army Navy, which sent ships to the gulf last December in its first overseas combat deployment.
The exercise would help the Chinese navy "further develop its ability to co-ordinate a range of activities with foreign militaries far out at sea," deputy commander of the Chinese flotilla, Wen Xinchao, was quoted as saying by Xinhua. Vessels from the US, Denmark, Italy, Russia, China and other countries have been patrolling waters off lawless Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden to ward off pirates hijacking merchant ships and holding crew members for ransom. The International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur says there have been 156 attacks so far this year.