On July 17, the Commander of the Chinese task force operating in the Gulf of Aden met with EU Naval Force – Operation Atalanta Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis on board FS Marne.
Additionally to the international Counter piracy forces, EU Naval Force Atalanta, NATO and Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) a considerable amount of national military naval forces are operating in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia – all committed to Counter-Piracy, but to some extend with varying mandate and mission objectives. One of those national deployers is China.
Although their task is not identical to that of Operation Atalanta (TF 465), the common objective is the deterrence and of piracy. That is why EU NAVFOR Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis welcomed his Chinese counterpart, Rear Admiral Yang Jun-Fei , on board the EU flagship.
Along with a brief visit on the French Navy command and replenishment ship Marne, the Chinese delegation held talks with Rear Admiral Dupuis to strengthen ties and discuss the modalities for coordination and information exchange. These exchanges are already effective by way of the Mercury system, an internet-based secured communication network, used as an alert and coordination tool by all anti-piracy stakeholders, civilian and military.
The significant number of actors who are committed in Counter-Piracy makes it regular contact essential, to de-conflict their operation in space and time and coordinated actions where appropriate to increase the effectiveness of the various navies present in the Area of Operation.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, July 25, 2012; Image: EU Navfor