Publication

The decision to deploy three ships, the DDG-171 Haikou and the DDG-169 Wuhan – two guided missile destroyers – and a supply ship, the Weishanhu, to the Somali coast and the Gulf of Aden, was not an easy one. In the first instance Beijing sounded out possible reactions of the international community and announced at the United Nations that one was considering a deployment. China then started a media campaign in order to demonstrate that the deployment was in accordance with inter-national law.