China's counter-piracy deployments in the Gulf of Aden and Southeast Asia were never just about pirates — they were a stepping-stone for a much larger maritime strategy. Comparing the two regions, the thesis finds some truth in all three explanations (meeting rivals' challenges and establishing geopolitical position; safeguarding economic interests; cooperating as a good global citizen) — and the deployments left China with a better-trained, more capable, more versatile navy, expanded economic reach, and tactics learned through cooperation with other navies.

— In our words · Source: China's role in counter-piracy operations (Ann K. Patterson)