China’s state-run newspaper Global Times announced on 18 December that the country would send two destroyers and a supply ship to Somalia to protect Chinese shipping. The announcement came one day after a Chinese-operated cargo vessel, Zhenhua 4 , was subject to a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden. With no assets in the region, Beijing was compelled to request assistance from the International Maritime Bureau, which organised a multinational rescue effort. The ship was recovered and no crew members were injured. Full Story