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China-Japan-Koreas

Spokesman: China to rescue hijacked crew, bulk carrier

2009-10-23

(Xinhua) -- China will make every effort to rescue the crew and the hijacked bulk carrier, the De Xin Hai, from pirates in the Indian Ocean, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said Tuesday. Ma told a regular press conference that the Chinese government was closely monitoring developments with the ship.
"We did" carries ever so much more weight than "we're gonna."
The Chinese vessel was hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean early Monday, with 25 Chinese crew aboard. European Union (EU) naval force spokesman John Harbour confirmed on Monday that the 25 Chinese were taken hostage by Somali pirates, but they seemed to be fine.

Ma said the Chinese Foreign Ministry and other government departments immediately started an emergency response procedure. Chinese embassies and consulates have received instructions to gather and review information about the incident.

Ma said the Foreign Ministry had issued a warning to Chinese ships and citizens to avoid crossing the waters where the hijacking occurred. "We will watch closely developments in the incident and make every effort to rescue the hijacked crew and carrier," Ma said.
Not that they really care about the crew, mind you. It's the loss of face at having their ship taken. Somebody's going to become an object lesson, real soon.

Posted by:Fred

#4 From EagleSpeak:

Pirated Chinese bulker now off coast of Somalia, as reported here:

The Hijacked Bulk Carrier the DE XIN HAI is confirmed to have arrived off the coast of Somalia and is now in the vicinity of Hobyo.

It is not yet known if the pirates have contacted the owners and made their demands known.

And this from an earlier post:

China has vowed to rescue the crew of a coal-laden cargo ship seized by pirates far off the coast of Somalia, but a negotiated settlement is more likely, maritime experts said Wednesday.

Off Somlia, currently China has a couple of frigates, a supply ship and some PLA marine commando teams aboard. The frigates carry a couple of helicopters.

It remains to be seen how much they want the coal carrier back and what price they are willing to pay for it either in ransom or blood.

Reinforcements for the Chinese units are a long way away, unless they seek assistance from other anti-pirate patrol nations, some of which have been more aggressive in their use of force against pirates than others.

There is also the question of whether or not a "big stick" approach will have any effect on future pirate operations against Chinese vessels.

My belief is that the pirates don't really know who owns the ships they pursue, so I wouldn't hold much hope of deterring future attacks by a show of force. Unless, of course, that show of force means taking out the shore side operations of the pirates- which is not likely given the size of the Chinese force.

Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-10-23 13:22

#3 C'mon, guys - too much killing of civs. Bad karma. Bad press.

Just sink every rusty tub in the "harbor" and let it go at that. Plenty of time to raze the entire area if they don't get the message, hmmm?

Posted by: mojo 2009-10-23 12:31

#2 Now, now, 3dc. Old Patriot addressed that yesterday. Arclight is the proper approach in such situations... or perhaps a Daisy Cutter dropped neatly in the center of the the appropriate shipping village.

Posted by: trailing wife 2009-10-23 10:09

#1 They could napalm those villages where the pirates live.... just saying....

Posted by: 3dc 2009-10-23 00:44

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