China targets pirates in groundbreaking mission

GUANGZHOU, China – Chinese warships headed toward Somali waters Friday to combat piracy, the first time the communist country has sent ships on a mission that could involve fighting so far beyond its territorial waters.
The deployment to the Gulf of Aden, which has been plagued by increasingly bold pirate attacks in recent months, marks a major step in the navy's evolution from mostly guarding China's coasts to patrolling waters far from home.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081226/ap_on_re_as/piracy