The Bahrain-based command said Danish support ship HDMS Absalon had "successfully deterred an attempted pirate attack on the Chinese M/V Yandanghai."

"Absalon closed on the coordinates given by the Chinese ship following their distress call and spotted a skiff matching the description given by the captain of the motor vessel," it said in a statement.

Several weapons, including a rocket-propelled grenade, four AK-47 assault rifles, two grenades and a knife were found after a team boarded the skiff.

The crew of the distressed ship had managed to prevent the attackers from climbing on board by using fire hoses against them, the statement said.

Two crew members sustained minor injuries in the attack, it added.

No arrests were reported.

Chinese state media earlier reported that Chinese naval forces had thwarted a pirate attack on a Liberian-flagged Italian merchant ship on Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia.

It was the second time that a Chinese naval convoy, sent to the region on a landmark mission to protect the country's shipping from pirates, has come to the aid of foreign ships, according to Xinhua.

The force's mission marked China's first potential combat mission beyond its territorial waters in centuries.

US and European ships have also been sent to the waters off Somalia, where pirates attacked more than 100 vessels last year.

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