The 45th Chinese naval escort taskforce wrapped up a five-fay goodwill visit to Madagascar on Sunday and headed for its next stop in Seychelles, on its way home following fulfillment of its escort mission in the Gulf of Eden and waters off Somalia.
At 15:00 local time, the guided-missile destroyer Urumqi, the guided-missile frigate Linyi, and the comprehensive replenishment vessel Dongpinghu of the fleet set off one after another from the port of Toamasina.
The Chinese Embassy in Madagascar held a farewell ceremony for the fleet at the pier. Madagascar military leaders, Chinese embassy staff, and overseas Chinese had waited there to see them off.
The Chinese and Madagascar sides carried out a series of exchange activities during the five-day span. The taskforce came to the Tamatave School for Overseas Chinese and brought the teachers and students school supplies and daily necessities. The students also staged performances with Chinese elements.
When docking at the Port of Toamasina, the fleet also invited members of the public to come aboard. Nearly a thousand people, including teachers and students from the local Confucius Institute and School for Overseas Chinese, as well as military officers and soldiers of Madagascar and their family members, had an opportunity to tour on board the three ships and had cordial conversations with Chinese soldiers.
"Today I was honored to have the opportunity to board the ship. I am very happy, and I think the Chinese people and Chinese soldiers are great," said Liang Jiaming, a Confucius Institute student.
In early March, the 45th Chinese naval escort taskforce completed escort tasks for 72 Chinese and foreign vessels in 43 batches in the Gulf of Eden, and provided security guard for 14 transiting merchant ships, demonstrating the role of China as a responsible major power.
The 46th Chinese naval escort taskforce has formally taken over the escort mission from the 45th escort taskforce on March 4, and has proceeded with the escort tasks in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia.
Chinese naval escort fleet concludes goodwill visit to Madagascar
People in Palestine have expressed their support for efforts to secure peace by their leaders as the two Palestinian factions have met in Beijing under Chinese mediation.
At the invitation of China, representatives of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) recently came to Beijing for in-depth and candid talks on promoting intra-Palestinian reconciliation, and achieved positive progress, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed on Tuesday.
The two sides agreed to continue this dialog process and strive for the early realization of Palestinian unity and reached an agreement on the next step of dialog, according to the spokesman Lin Jian.
In interviews with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the talks between Fatah and Hamas, the Palestinian people in the war-torn Gaza Strip commended China for brokering this meeting, calling for a solution to restore peace and normal life of the people.
"We appreciate the Chinese role, but the problem unfortunately lies in the inability of the factions to find a solution. They must find solutions for us after all this that we have lived through. I believe an alternative body must be found to run the country," said Khaled Al-Mughrabi, a displaced Palestinian.
"We hope that we will return to Gaza soon to live in our cities like the rest of the residents of Palestine. Regarding the news we hear about Fatah and Hamas meetings under Chinese sponsorship, we hope that China will succeed in this role and can pave the way for reaching an agreement that will end these difficult circumstances in which we are living," said Am Muhammad Taima, a Palestinian refugee.
"We hope that it will build on what was previously agreed upon through these meetings in Beijing, and that we will start a new page, especially in the face of these complex political and security circumstances facing the people of Gaza and the West Bank as a result of this aggression condemned by all countries of the world," said Sufyan Matar, a member of the Central Committee of the Palestine Liberation Front.
The internal division between Fatah and Hamas began in 2007 when Hamas forcibly took over the Gaza Strip from Fatah. Since then, the Palestinian territories have been split into a Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and a Fatah-dominated West Bank. Over the past 17 years, the two rivals have reached several agreements and understandings.
The Palestinian Authority is the Fatah-controlled government body that comprises most major Palestinian factions.
Palestinians hopeful for peace as Fatah, Hamas factions hold talks in Beijing
