China's anti-piracy role expands

China has agreed to join an international naval operation to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia.

China has been focusing on protecting its own shipping in the area, but it will now join the naval forces of the US, Nato and the European Union.
This grouping, the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (Shade), protects a shipping corridor in the western Indian Ocean.
This is the area where pirate attacks are most frequent.
Members of the international naval task force say that although attacks there have increased, fewer have been successful.