There has been no news about the Navy’s 46th escort fleet for a long time. Is this the reason?

The WeChat official account of the Chinese Embassy in Somalia reported that recently, a Chinese fishing boat was illegally controlled by armed elements in the waters near Puntland State, Somalia. Thanks to the unremitting efforts of relevant Chinese government departments, the crew of the accused ship was safely rescued on January 13. China strongly condemns this vicious incident that endangers the lives of the crew and international maritime security, and will continue to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and enterprises overseas, and work with relevant parties to maintain international maritime security.

During the process of resolving the incident, China maintained close communication and coordination with the federal and local governments of Somalia. The Somali side expressed that it attached great importance to China's security concerns and was willing to continue to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as fisheries. China expressed gratitude for the sincere help provided by friends from all walks of life in Somalia.

China and Somalia have a profound traditional friendship, and any attempt to undermine the friendly cooperation between the two countries will not succeed. China will continue to work with Somalia to promote practical cooperation in various fields between the two countries and push forward the China-Somalia strategic partnership.

Screenshot of the South China Sea Fleet WeChat official account

Judging from the news released by the WeChat official account of the Chinese Embassy in Somalia, there was no specific name of the ship and time, nor the rescue process. Considering the fleet of ships currently carrying out the 46th escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters, the latest news in China was at the end of October last year.

Screenshot of the WeChat public account released by the Eastern Fleet

According to the news released on December 15, 2024 by the WeChat official account of the East China Sea Fleet, the 47th Chinese Navy escort fleet set sail from a military port in Zhoushan, Zhejiang on December 15 last year to the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters to replace the 46th escort fleet to perform escort missions. The 47th escort fleet consists of the missile destroyer Baotou, the missile frigate Honghe, and the comprehensive supply ship Gaoyou Lake. It carries two ship-borne helicopters, dozens of special warfare members, and a total of more than 700 officers and soldiers on the mission. In terms of time, the 47th Navy escort fleet should have arrived in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters long ago, but there is no news about the escort fleet at present. Even the 16th anniversary of the Navy's escort on December 26 last year did not see any reports. By analogy, the time when the Chinese fishing boat was hijacked in the waters of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden should have been last November. The Chinese Embassy in Somalia also did not disclose whether the Navy escort fleet was involved in the rescue process.

Data map of the 46th Navy escort fleet

The Gulf of Aden and the Somali waters are golden international commercial routes, and frequent pirate robberies have affected the economic development of countries around the world. On June 2, 2008, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1816, authorizing naval forces of various countries to enter Somali territorial waters to stop armed robbery by pirates. As China's demand for shipping has increased, on December 26, 2008, the Chinese Navy sent ships for escort. It has been 16 years since then, and has always insisted on maintaining the number of ships in each batch at a scale of 3. For example, the 46th escort formation is composed of the missile destroyer Jiaozuo, the missile frigate Xuchang, and the comprehensive supply ship Honghu. In the past, it was rotated every six months, and it has been nearly 11 months since the 46th escort formation set off on February 21, 2024. From November last year to January this year, what did the 46th escort formation do without any news in these three months? We don't know.

The picture shows the crew members who were illegally controlled

According to media reports, the hijacked fishing boat was operated by Liaoning Daping Fishery Group and supplied fish to European markets in Spain and Italy. It was carrying 18 crew members at the time and was hijacked by armed groups in the El region of Somalia near the Hafen district of the Bari region. Coincidentally, on January 24, the Somali government issued a statement announcing that two Somali fishermen were rescued by a Chinese ship after they ran aground in the central Indian Ocean and have now returned safely to Mogadishu. The two men were initially taken to China on January 10, 2025, and then repatriated to Somalia on January 13. Looking at these two incidents together, the fact that they were announced to be over on the same day may have a lot to do with the rescue of the crew of the fishing boat. It also shows that the rescue did not use the escort fleet's forces at all. What do you think? (End)

Source: Internet platform