Reporter's log: China's naval ships a reassuring presence in pirate-infested gulf

"We haven't found any abnormal situations," the captain answered.

"Okay. There also is another frigate of the PLA Navy carrying out convoy tasks in front of you," the voice said. "If you run into an emergency or need help, you can call us at any time through the public radio telephone."

The short conversation was over and there was no doubt that a strong sense of safety calmed to my mind.

More surprisingly, a grey, guided missile frigate gradually appeared in our sights and sailed like a flexible fish, compared to our heavy merchant ship.

"Which country is it from?" we asked. All of us guessed it was from China, but no one was sure because its information wasn't seen on the merchant vessel's radar.

As it approached, we could see three obvious numbers on its side -- 515. It was the CNS Binzhou.

Only then did I realized that seeing a real frigate from my home country with my own eyes was better than watching it on TV or in a movie.

What's more, this time I saw it in the Gulf of Aden, when I was worried about pirates.