The 48th and 49th escort fleets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy have recently held a mission handover ceremony in China's support base in Djibouti, marking that the 49th Chinese naval escort taskforce formally took over the escort mission from the 48th taskforce in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia.
The two fleets also organized a joint escort mission and a joint patrol. On Saturday local time, the two fleets held a split-off ceremony in a certain sea area of the Gulf of Aden.
The 49th escort fleet, mainly composed of naval forces from the Southern Theater Command, consists of the guided-missile destroyer Kunming, the guided-missile frigate Yueyang and the comprehensive supply ship Luomahu, with dozens of special operations personnel and two helicopters on board, totaling over 700 personnel on the mission.
In line with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, China has maintained a regular naval escort presence in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters since 2008 to safeguard the security of international shipping routes, escort Chinese and foreign vessels, and rescue, protect or assist ships in distress.
49th Chinese navy escort fleet takes over mission in Gulf of Aden, Somali waters
International media on Saturday and Sunday visited the core disaster area of mudslide-hit Gyirong Port on the China-Nepal border in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region.
The reporters from the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Brazil among other countries and regions visited the area and learned about the disaster situation, ongoing rescue operations, and progress in recovery and reconstruction.
"China has this particular the capacity to address this kind of crisis. You have thousands of workers trained for this and you have machines made for this kind of efforts. And of course, our heart goes to them for the kind of work they are putting," said KJM Varma Mokanda, a reporter from Press Trust of India.
The mudslide, triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse in Nepal on Aug 26, had left 43 people dead and 519 others missing at the border port as of 18:00 Saturday, the emergency response and rescue headquarters told a press conference on Sunday.
As of 18:00 Saturday, more than 2,500 people and over 500 vehicles had been deployed for the rescue, and more than 1,000 flights of drones had air-dropped 5.43 tons of supplies, officials said at the press conference.
International media visit mudslide-hit Gyirong Port
