ABOARD DESTROYER HAIKOU: The Navy's three-ship fleet, joining global forces to fight piracy in the Somali waters, undertook its first split mission on Thursday and Friday.

The two destroyers, Wuhan and Haikou, separately guarded three Hong Kong-flagged merchant ships through the Gulf of Aden after a 40-hour journey.

Hu Weihua, commander of the destroyer Haikou, said the separate actions have enabled the fleet to carry out more guarding missions. There will be more such missions in the future, he said.