The Yancheng, a missile frigate, will accompany a Norwegian-Danish
convoy which is in international waters off Syria, waiting for the
go-ahead from international watchdogs overseeing the removal of the
chemical arsenal.
The mission to ship chemicals from Syria has missed its December 31
target date and Chinese and Cypriot officials said it was unclear
exactly when it would begin.
"China supports the efforts of the international community to
destroy the Syrian chemical weapons ... we wish this operation a
success," said Liu Xinsheng, the Chinese ambassador to Cyprus.
Photis Photiou, the defense minister of Cyprus, said after meeting
Chinese officials that he expected the operation would start "any
day now".
Russia will also be providing escort to the convoy carrying Syria's
chemical weapons, which will be loaded onto two cargo ships and
escorted to Italy, where a U.S. ship equipped with toxin
neutralizing equipment will take over.
The U.S. vessel, the Cape Ray, is due to leave the United States for
the Mediterranean in about two weeks.
Dozens of Chinese nationals in Cyprus converged on the quay of
Limassol port, about 160 miles west of the Syrian port city of
Latakia from where the chemicals will be shipped.
Loudspeakers blared Chinese music as Chinese flags were waved by
women in traditional yellow and red costumes.
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The December 31 deadline was missed because of poor weather,
logistical delays and the conflict inside Syria, where President
Bashar al-Assad's forces have fought to clear rebels from roads
along which the chemicals will be transported.
Syria agreed to abandon its chemical weapons under a deal proposed
by Russia and hashed out with the United States, after hundreds of
people died in an August 21 sarin gas attack that Western nations
blamed on Assad's government. Syrian authorities deny they used
chemical weapons, blaming rebels.
China has repeatedly called for a political resolution. It has also
called for a full and impartial investigation by U.N. chemical
weapons inspectors.
(Reporting By Michele Kambas; editing by Alister Doyle)
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