When the bodies of three Chinese soldiers were taken home from Mali and South Sudan in June and July, the shock waves felt throughout China reminded people how dangerous peacekeeping had become.

Peacekeeping operations have entered an area of unpredictable deep waters. The number of major violent conflicts has almost tripled since 2008 while United Nations missions have become much diversified.

For example, in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, peacekeepers' tasks included protection of civilians and support for the transition process; facilitating humanitarian assistance; promotion and protection of human rights; support for justice and rule of law; and disarmament, demobilization, reintegration and repatriation processes. In contrast, in the first UN peacekeeping mission in 1948, the only task was observing a ceasefire.