China Daily: Team anti-piracy fight urged

China renewed a call Thursday for a cooperative international effort against Somali piracy by defining patrol areas in the Horn of Africa.

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Bloomberg: China Seeks Lead Role in Sea Piracy Fight, Morning Post Reports

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China in Talks With Pirates Holding Crew Off Somalia, SCMP Says

China is involved in secret negotiations with pirates holding the crew of 25 from a bulk carrier off Somalia, the South China Morning Post said, citing the secretary general of the Chinese Shipowners’ Association.
Beijing and Qindao Ocean Shipping, the owner of the hijacked vessel, is in discussions with the captors, who made it clear they have no intention to harm the crew and the goods on board, they just want a ransom, Zhang Zuyue said, according to the report in the Morning Post today.

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TIME: How China Is Battling Its Pirate Problem

When Somali pirates hijacked a Chinese fishing boat in the Indian Ocean last November, there was little that China could do. The government said it was assessing the situation and hoping for help from authorities in the region. Last week when pirates overpowered the crew of a Chinese bulk carrier 700 miles off the coast of Somalia, a Foreign Ministry spokesman pledged that China would make "an all-out effort to rescue the sailors and the ship."

What changed in a year? Since sending three warships to the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden in January, China is increasingly capable of defending its merchant vessels in the region. And the country is now more willing to display its growing military strength, as was demonstrated in the massive military parade held in Beijing on Oct.1 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic.

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BBC: China vows to free hijacked ship

China has pledged to make an "all out" effort to rescue a cargo ship with 25 crew on board that has been hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean.

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AP: Somali pirates seize Chinese ship with 25 crew

Somali pirates seized a Chinese cargo ship Monday with 25 people onboard, a naval spokesman for the European Union’s anti-piracy force said, in the first successful attack on a Chinese vessel since the country deployed three naval warships to the region.

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