![The 31st fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) sets sail from Zhanjiang, south China's Guangdong Province, on Sunday, December 9, 2018. [Photo: VCG]](http://img1.zhytuku.meldingcloud.com/images/zhycms_chinaplus/20181209/6a504078-0527-45de-9f91-3db4841c56d1.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_650)
The 31st fleet of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) set sail on Sunday to undertake escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somali, reports cnr.cn.
Carrying more than 700 naval officers and soldiers and three helicopters, the fleet departed from a port in the coastal city of Zhanjiang, south China’s Guangdong Province at around 9 am.
The fleet is composed of a landing vessel, a missile frigate and a supply ship.
![Naval soldiers board a vessel that is setting sail from Zhanjiang, south China's Guangdong Province, on Sunday, December 9, 2018. [Photo: VCG]](http://img2.zhytuku.meldingcloud.com/images/zhycms_chinaplus/20181209/1e319174-5f71-4bf5-91d1-1a6daf2155cb.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_650)
Starting from 2008, the Chinese Navy has sent 31 batches of escort fleets to the Gulf of Aden and Somali sea areas for escort missions, involving 100 naval ships, 67 helicopters and over 26,000 naval officers and soldiers.
In the past ten years, the Chinese navy has escorted over 6,000 ships and aided more than 60 Chinese and foreign ships.
