Now we're talking - China is sending war ships to Somalia
About time someone grew a pair. From
ABC News/Associated Press:
China Targets Pirates in Groundbreaking Mission
Chinese warships headed toward Somali waters Friday to combat piracy, the first time the communist country has sent ships on a mission that could involve fighting so far beyond its territorial waters.
The deployment to the Gulf of Aden, which has been plagued by increasingly bold pirate attacks in recent months, marks a major step in the navy's evolution from mostly guarding China's coasts to patrolling waters far from home.
The move was welcomed by the U.S. military, which has been escorting cargo ships in the region along with India, Russia and the European Union. But analysts predicted the Chinese intervention could be troubling to some Asian nations who might see it as a sign of the Chinese military becoming more aggressive.
Somehow I don't see the Chinese as being so hesitant to blow a couple pigs out of the water as other nations have been. Good news!
A bit more outlining the scope of the attacks:
Pirates working out of Somalia have made an estimated $30 million this year, seizing more than 40 vessels off the country's 1,880-mile (3,000-kilometer) coastline. Most of the attacks have occurred in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
And:
China's military has not said how long the mission would last, but the state-run China Daily newspaper recently reported the ships would be gone for about three months. The paper said about 20 percent of the 1,265 Chinese ships passing through the Somali area have come under attack this year.
Finally! This has grown into a 'problem' because nobody nipped it in the bud when they first started. The terrorists became bolder and that $30 million is just what the shippers are admitting to -- the real number is probably a lot higher. All of this money is going to fund Islamist terrorism throughout the world. There are a lot of attacks that don't make it to the media.
I refer again to
The Religion of Peace website -- scroll down about halfway until you get to "
List of Islamic Terror Attacks For the Past 2 Months"
Posted by DaveH at December 26, 2008 3:08 PM
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