(YANG ZHIGANG)

Chinese sailors aboard Maanshan frigate fire flares to celebrate the first anniversary of the Chinese naval escort mission in the Gulf of Aden on December 26, 2009.

Four Chinese naval flotillas in succession, consisting of 10 ships, have undertaken anti-piracy missions off Somalia, providing escort to 937 ships.

China's Foreign Ministry said on December 29 that Chinese bulk carrier De Xin Hai, which was rescued from pirates a day earlier, was heading home under the protection of China's naval escort. The India-bound vessel and 25 Chinese crew members aboard were hijacked on October 19 in the Indian Ocean, 350 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles and 700 nautical miles off the eastern coast of Somalia.