© Xinhua
CHINA-GUANGXI-PINGLU CANAL PROJECT-CONSTRUCTION (CN)
BANGKOK (AP) — China has been increasingly using civilian ships including hundreds of fishing trawlers to back up its vast territorial claims and project military power.
China’s navy is already the world’s largest by ship count and has been rapidly building new warships. It launched its first domestically designed and built aircraft carrier in June and at least five new destroyers are on the way soon.
Experts say civilian vessels such as fishing boats that are anchored for months at a time in the disputed South China Sea do more than just augment the raw numbers of ships. They perform tasks that would be difficult for the military to carry out such as slowly displacing other vessels without involving armed conflict and complicating the rules of engagement.
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