World’s 3rd-most powerful military deploys warships, 700 personnel to Red Sea gateway as Africa launches anti-piracy task force

China, the world’s third-most powerful military, has deployed its 49th naval escort fleet to waters around Somalia with three warships, two helicopters and more than 700 personnel, as African states move to establish a new regional task force to counter a resurgence of piracy in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.