China's Navy deployed a second flotilla on Thursday morning as it rotated warships escorting merchant vessels on an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters.

The task force, which includes the destroyer DDG-167 Shenzhen and the frigate FFG-570 Huangshan, will relieve two destroyers and rendezvous with the supply ship Weishanhu, which will remain in the Gulf.

At a naval base in the port city of Zhanjiang, headquarters of the South Sea Fleet, Navy Commander Adm. Wu Shengli authorized the deployment of the expedition, led by Rear-Adm. Yao Zhilou.

The two ships left the base at about 10 a.m., carrying two helicopters, missiles and about 800 crew members including a naval special force unit.

A crowd of hundreds saw off the crews, who lined up on the warships' decks. The ships will continue the People's Liberation Army's first combat deployment far beyond China's territorial waters, under authorization of four United Nations Security Council resolutions.

China sent two destroyers and one supply ship on December 26 on a historic escort mission to protect Chinese merchant vessels as well as other parts of the world sailing through the region, which has seen an increase in piracy.

The destroyers now in the region will return to China after the newly deployed ships arrive.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2009)