QINGDAO -- The 42nd fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy set out from a military port in East China's Shandong province on Wednesday to take over an escort mission from the 41st naval fleet in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia. The 42nd fleet is mainly composed of naval troops and equipment from the PLA Northern Theater Command, including the guided-missile destroyer Huainan, the missile frigate Rizhao and a supply vessel, with dozens of special-operations soldiers and two helicopters on board. In preparation for the mission, the fleet conducted counter-terrorism and anti-piracy training, and training

The People"s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command mobilized its air and naval forces to monitor the passage of United States and Canadian warships through the Taiwan Straits on Tuesday, the command's spokesman said. Senior Colonel Shi Yi said in a brief statement on Wednesday that the USS Higgins, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer from the US Seventh Fleet's Destroyer Squadron 15, and the HMCS Vancouver, a Halifax-class frigate in the Royal Canadian Navy, transited through the Straits and that the act was sensationalized. Aircraft and naval ships of the PLA Eastern Theater Command closely monitored the passage and stayed on alert,

President's goal is to build stronger, more integrated and more flexible PLA Editor's Note: To mark the 95th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, China Daily is publishing a series of stories elaborating on Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military, expounding its main ideas from different angles. The People's Liberation Army has been undergoing a historic reform guided by President Xi Jinping since late 2012, when Xi became the top leader of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese military. Xi Jinping Thought on Strengthening the Military has also made it clear that pursuing reform