Navy in Indian ocean

The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will deploy a range of naval vessels into the Indian Ocean region in the future, said a senior military official during a press conference on 29 January.

The comment by Senior Colonel Yang Yujun, a spokesperson at China's Ministry of National Defense (MND), comes against the backdrop of increased PLAN deployments to the region since it first took part in international counter-piracy efforts off Somalia in 2008. Since then, the PLAN has progressively expanded the frequency and type of naval vessels - the latter now to include submarines - that it sends to the Indian Ocean.

PLAN to deploy range of warships in Indian Ocean, says China's defence ministry