Beijing - Chinese naval ships will join UN-led efforts to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, state media said on Wednesday. "There will be a significant peacekeeping operation (for China)," the official China Daily quoted an unidentified military source as saying.
The foreign ministry quoted Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei as telling a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday in New York that China was "actively considering" a naval deployment in the region.
But the newspaper said the navy was already organizing a fleet and quoted a Chinese journalist who was expected to accompany the mission as saying it would last three months.
Mohammed Awil, Somalia's ambassador to China said his country wanted to see Chinese naval ships as part of a short-term international drive against piracy.
"We hope China joins the efforts of the international community in supporting the Somali government," Awil told the newspaper.
The Somali ambassador said he hoped the international patrols would be short-term measure.
"The international community should help our government build up the Somali navy, and then our own navy will take responsibility for safeguarding Somali waters," he was quoted as saying.
The UN Security Council on Tuesday adopted its third resolution of the year authorizing states to take enhanced and "robust action," and coordinate to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Since it adopted the first resolution earlier this year, pirates have seized more and larger ships, including a Saudi tanker with an oil shipment worth an estimated 100 million dollars and a Ukrainian ship with a cargo of weapons and ammunition worth 20 million dollars.
The UN said the pirates have reportedly received 30 million dollars in ransom. Dozens of ships have been hijacked, but the correct number cannot be confirmed by agencies, including the International Maritime Organization.
The Security Council in the summer authorized use of force to stop piracy.
Some NATO countries, Russia and India have been involved in the fight against piracy.
