The PLA at Home and Abroad - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

ordinated Chinese helicopter flight operations with
the ScanEagle launches and recoveries. The exchanges
are professional, routine and positive. . . .” 127 On September
10, 2009, China began its first ever joint global
security action with Russia on the world stage. All
three vessels from the PLAN’s third deployment will
work with Russian vessels similarly deployed. As part
of joint Blue Peace Shield 2009 exercises, the two navies
have conducted “tests of communications links,
simulated missions to identify ships from helicopters,
coordinated resupply efforts, and live firing of deck
guns.” 128
CLOSER COOPERATION?
Despite shared goals, China—like India and Russia—has
yet to join any of the multinational counterpiracy
efforts. 129 Instead, starting in mid-October 2009,
Beijing made an official proposal that waters around
the Horn of Africa be apportioned into discrete zones
in which participating nations exercised responsibility
for security to better cover the unexpectedly broadening
of Somali pirate attacks beyond the 60th meridian
in the more dangerous waters to the south and
east. 130 In November, China convened a conference
to promote the proposal. Despite extremely positive
overtures in Shared Awareness and Deconfliction
(SHADE) meetings and other venues and optimistic
expectations from EU officials and Commodore Tim
Lowe, deputy commander, CTF-150, China appears to
have “deftly parried appeals . . . to lead” existing CTF
initiatives. At the same time, at least one Chinese analyst
states that while China’s proposal would reduce
costs and increase effectiveness, relative gains concerns
on the part of other nations may well prelude its
implementation. 131
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