It appears that China's policy of military non-interference has come to an end. China has announced today that it is to send naval ships to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia:
State media suggested the force could consist of two destroyers and a supply ship, although officials did not confirm the details of the deployment [...] China's navy, along with the rest of its military, has not often strayed far from home. But China's military spending has increased dramatically in recent years as its armed forces undergo a thorough modernisation.This is its first active deployment beyond the Pacific, and naval analysts will be watching closely to see how the Chinese cope with the complex maintenance and re-supply problems of operating so far from home, the BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says.
[...] The Gulf of Aden is a region of key strategic importance for China whose economy depends heavily upon a secure supply of oil and raw materials from abroad, our correspondent says.
Four or five Chinese ships pass through the busy channel every day.