D
China may send naval ships to the seas off
Somalia to help the fight against piracy（海盗行为） there, Chinese media on Wednesday quoted a Vice Foreign Minister as
saying at the United Nations, Reuters reported.
"China is seriously considering
sending naval ships to the Gulf of Aden and waters off the Somali coast for
escorting operations in the near future," the Xinhua news agency quoted He
Yafei as saying. He Yafei, speaking at a Security Council ministerial meeting,
said that China welcomed global cooperation in the fight against Somali piracy,
and supported efforts by other countries to send ships to the region, Xinhua
reported.
Earlier this month a leading Chinese
military strategist, Major-General Jin Yinan, urged the government to send
ships, in comments generating debate about combating piracy in a country which
has generally confined its navy to waters near home. Jin told a Chinese radio
interviewer that "nobody should be shocked" if his government one day
decided to send navy ships to deal with the pirates, whose recent victims have
included ships from Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. Jin is the head of a
strategy institute at China's National Defense University.
While the military strategist is urging an
active part, other scholars think the government should be cautious before a
decision is made. The Chinese military ships should go there "only within
the UN framework," said Pang Zhongying, a professor of international
relations with Renmin University of China. Pang added that he also had some
concerns over the Chinese navy's capability. "I don't think the Chinese
navy has the capability to fight against unconventional threats far in the
ocean," he said, adding supplying and refueling in the Indian Ocean are
key challenges.
A sharp increase in attacks at sea this
year in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean off Somalia has pushed up
insurance costs, brought the Somali pirates tens of millions of dollars in
ransom（赎金） and
prompted foreign warships to the area. Among the captured ships are a Saudi
supertanker loaded with $100 million of crude oil, the Sirius Star, and a
Ukrainian cargo ship carrying some 30 Soviet-era tanks. The victims have also
included a Hong Kong-flagged ship with 25 crew aboard and a Chinese mainland
fishing boat reported seized off Kenya. NATO ships began anti-piracy operations
off the Somali coast in late October, but they have failed to stop the attacks.
56. This year, many ships from different
countries have been captured by the Somali pirates except _______.
A. a Saudi supertanker B. a
Ukrainian cargo C.NATO
ships D. the Sirius Star
57. The underlined word
"confined" in the third paragraph most probably means ________.
A.
involved B.
restricted C.
confirmed D. contract
58. From the passage, we learn that
_______.
A. China has sent its navy to fight the
Somalia pirates
B. some countries have launched their
anti-piracy operations
C. the Somalia pirates often attacked
foreign warships for ransom
D. The Chinese navy hasn’t the capability
to travel far to combat pirates
59. When the Major-General Jin Yinan said
"nobody should be shocked", he actually indicated that ________.
A. the Chinese people should keep calm
about the government's decision
B. no one should be frightened by the
pirates' attack as the Chinese navy will defend them
C. it is reasonable for China to send its
navy to fight against the Somalia pirates
D. if China had dealt with the pirates
earlier, nobody would have been shocked
60. Professor Pang Zhongying’s main concern
about the Chinese naval ships is that _______.
A. adding supplying and refueling far in
the ocean is really a challenge
B. the Chinese navy has never fought
against such unconventional threats
C. the fighting against pirates is not
within the UN framework
D. the attacks in the Gulf of Aden and
Indian Ocean off Somalia has increased sharply
