Members of the Chinese Navy in Beijing during a welcoming ceremony hosted by President Hu Jintao for the visiting president of Costa Rica. Photo from The BBCFrom The Jamestown Foundation:
China created a stir late last year when it announced that the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) would commence policing the Gulf of Aden for Somali pirates. Two PLAN destroyers and a combat logistics ship arrived on station off the Horn of Africa this past January. By most accounts, Chinese commanders have coordinated their efforts smoothly with other antipiracy contingents, notably the U.S.-led Task Force 151, the European Union's Operation Atlanta, and individual detachments dispatched by the likes of India and Russia. Nevertheless, skeptics saw ulterior motives at work in the Chinese expedition. China is finding that controversy follows great-power naval actions.
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My Comment: They are a soft power ..... for now.