On the afternoon of March 3, all the officers and men of the 5th Chinese naval escort taskforce held an oath-taking and mobilization meeting in the auditorium at a military port in Sanya, Hainan Province. Xu Jianzhong, deputy political commissar of the Navy of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), was present at and addressed the meeting.

　　Xu Jianzhong pointed out that the escort action is an important strategic decision made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Central Military Commission (CMC) and President Hu Jintao from the height of maintaining national security and development interest.