Increasing naval presence at the Gulf of Aden

The National Assembly Defence Committee of Korea has approved a motion which will pave the way for deploying a warship (the 4,500 tonne "Munmu") to the region to patrol shipping lanes until 31 December.

Meanwhile, ten Chinese and three-non Chinese commercial vessels have been safely escorted by the Chinese fleet through the Gulf of Aden. It is the largest operation by the nation's navy since it arrived in the region and illustrates that the increased naval presence is reducing the opportunity for pirates to attack, although it will take significant efforts and operations on the ground to completely mitigate the risk.