NATO military visits Beijing to discuss piracy operations
Military staff from NATO's Maritime Command in Northwood, UK, visited Beijing last week to attend an international counter-piracy meeting hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Defence. The purpose of the meeting was to strengthen the international coordination between navies around the world to protect ships from pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin.
Besides the NATO staff, officers from EU Naval Forces (EUNAVFOR) and the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) based in Bahrain, as well as military representatives from India, Japan, Pakistan and Russia all acknowledged the importance of sharing information on pirate activity in the region.