Yes, China is conducting the largest mission of the People's Liberation Army Navy abroad ever by sending three warships off the coast of Somalia. This extension of Chinese military power has to be sending a shiver down the spines of some folks at the Pentagon.
It's about China protecting its ships. It's not about the oil, which isn't even mentioned in this Associated Press article. It's never about the oil.
For some context yet again. Most of the pirates are former fishermen, who looked for other work after the big fish disappeared off the coast of Somalia, thanks to foreign commercial fisheries. About 90 percent of the world's big fish have vanished in the last 50 years--any fisherman can pretty much confirm this for you.
I'm not condoning the acts of the pirates. But this is a tiny example of what happens when resources become depleted...
