China's 14th naval escort taskforce has set sail from Qingdao, Shandong Province, to start its escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and in waters off the Somali coast.

The 14th escort fleet includes the guided missile frigate "Harbin", guided missile destroyer "Mianyang" and supply ship "Weishanhu". In the past four years, the People's Liberation Army Navy has dispatched 13 escort taskforces to the area, which included 34 warships, 28 helicopters and more than 10,000 officers.

Up to now, the 13 escort taskforces have completed up to 500-plus escort missions, protecting 5,000 Chinese and foreign merchant ships. The PLA has also successfully rescued over 60 ships.

A missile destroyer "Harbin" sets sail at a port in Qingdao City, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 16, 2013, to depart for the Gulf of Aden and the sea off Somalia on escort missions.

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