CHINA PLANS FIRST AIRCRAFT CARRIER AS NAVY HEADS FOR SOMALIA By Tham Choy Lin

BEIJING, Dec 23 (Bernama) -- China said Tuesday it is seriously considering building its first aircraft carrier as it prepares to send two warships and a supply vessel to protect Chinese commercial ships in the pirate-infested waters
off Somalia.

The three ships from the South Sea Fleet would set sail Friday from Sanya
in
southern Hainan island province with two helicopters and also carrying special
forces, missiles and cannon systems, Rear Admiral Xiao Xinnian, navy deputy
chief of staff, told the media Tuesday.

The flotilla would be on duty in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters for
quite some time under the United Nations Security Council resolution, he said of
the first deployment of its kind by China.

He said the action underlined China's commitment to its international
obligations and "as a responsible major country in the world".

"Through this we also demonstrate the resolve and capability of the Chinese
navy to deal with multiple security threats and complete diversified military
tasks," he added.

Rear Admiral Xiao said 25 to 30 groups with 1,000 pirates in all were
estimated and four of the groups were large and well organised.

Apart from escorting its commercial vessels, the Chinese navy would also
protect ships carrying humanitarian relief for intentional agencies like the
World Food Programme and assist foreign ships on request.

"The significance goes beyond military. It sends a strong political message
to the international community that China with its improved economic and
military strength is willing to play a large role in maintaining world peace and
security," Major-General Yang Yi of the Institute of Strategic Studies wrote in
a commentary carried Tuesday by the English-language China Daily.

National Defence Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Huang Xueping said at
the
same media briefing that the Chinese government would seriously consider the
relevant issues when asked on having an aircraft carrier.

China is the only permanent member of the UN Security Council without one.
Aircraft carriers are a symbol of a country's overall national strength as
well of the country' navy. China has vast oceans and it is the responsibility of
China's military forces to safeguard maritime security and sovereignty of
coastal areas and territorial seas," he said.

The Chinese navy is among the latest to join a growing multinational
force
patrolling the troubled region where hundreds of cargo ships have been hijacked
for ransom by pirates since last year.

Nearly 1,300 Chinese commercial ships use the vital shipping route at an
average of three to four daily.

China's Foreign Ministry said 20 per cent of them have
been attacked.

Last week, Malaysia's navy ship, KD Indera Sakti, and a helicopter thwarted
the latest attack on a Chinese cargo ship and its 30 crew members were rescued.

Senior captain Ma Luping, navy operations director of the People's
Liberation Army, said the piracy problem off Somalia differed from that in the
Straits of Melaka where Chinese ships were attacked before.

He said the piracy problem in the Straits of Melaka had been effectively
curbed due to efforts of littoral states whereas incidents off Somalia were
worsening.

-- BERNAMA