Chinese naval warship escorts shipments in Somalia
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Chinese warship FFG-525 Maanshan (CTF-526) successfully escorted the UN World Food Program (WFP) ship carrying shipments from Berbera to the southern Somali port Bosasso, EU Naval Force Somalia said on Tuesday.
The EU agency's spokesman Paddy O'Kennedy said the EU Naval Force and the Chinese Navy coordinated the delivery which took place on March 22-25 by the MV Amina.
He said a daily exchange of information and coordination for escorting merchant vessels carrying WFP aid has been carried out after the meeting between COMEUNAVFOR and the Commander of the Chinese Force (CTF-529), which took place on board the Spanish Flagship Canarias on Feb. 15. "The results of this mutual understanding between the Chinese Forces and EUNAVFOR have resulted in the first historical WFP escort by a Chinese naval warship," O'Kennedy said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
"This is evidence of good coordination and cooperation with one of the many partners in the fight against piracy."
O'Kennedy said after the arrival of the MV Amina in Bosasso, the WFP highlighted the high level of professionalism shown by the Chinese warship belonging to CTF-526.
Coordination between the different actors operating in the Horn of Africa is of paramount importance in order to increase the overall effectiveness of the deployed naval forces
Naval escorts for WFP ships heading to and from Somalia are vital for the UN agency to continue meeting increased needs in Somalia.
A succession of governments has generously supported WFP operations by providing naval escorts for ships carrying food assistance over the past year.
Since the naval escort system began in November 2007, no ship loaded with WFP food heading to Somalia has been hijacked. Ninety percent of WFP food for Somalia arrives by sea.
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