Earlier this week, the Chinese cargo ship 德新海 De Xin Hai was kidnapped by a group of Somali pirates.

This isn’t the first time a Chinese ship has had a run-in with Somali pirates. In December 2008, pirates in the region attempted to hijack the Zhenhua 4. The pirates, armed with rocket-propelled grenades, boarded the ship and tried to take the crew hostage.

Things didn’t quite go as planned. The Chinese crew fought off the hijackers using Molotov cocktails made out of beer bottles, a water cannon, and anything else they had laying around. Eventually, the hijackers gave up. The company that owned the ship gave each of the 30 member crew $10,000 USD as a reward, and they were considered heroes.

The crew of the De Xin Hai was not so lucky. They are now held hostage by the pirates, presumably for a hefty ransom. The Chinese government has apparently sent out two People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy warships to get the crew back at all costs. Details are short since the government does not want to threaten the lives of the abducted; the pirates have warned that if the PLA comes to the rescue, they’ll murder all the hostages.

It must be a very difficult moment for the Chinese government and PLA right now – China has a lot on the line. Obviously first and foremost is the life of the crew. If they’re murdered, the Chinese public will demand answers, and also demand retribution. China’s government and military will also lose face, not only to the Chinese public, but to the world. Add to that the fact that – as far as I know – the PLA hasn’t seen much ‘real-world’ action. China has quietly been modernizing its military, but I believe this is the first non-training exercise their navy has been deployed to deal with.

Considering all this, it almost seems like the safe bet would be to just pay the ransom.