SANYA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A new Chinese naval task force set sail on Thursday morning from a military port in the south Hainan Island to replace the fourth batch of flotilla in the Gulf of Aden escorting merchant vessels.

　　The new flotilla consists of the navy's missile destroyer DDG-168 Guangzhou, supply ship 887 Weishanhu and missile frigate FFG-568 Chaohu which has been sent to the waters off Somali coast in advance.