American experts: China is increasing the combat power of the PLA Navy at the expense of civilian ships
Recently, China has adopted a strategy of using civilian ships to increase the country's naval capabilities. For military purposes, Beijing can use a variety of vessels - from fishing boats to ocean ferries. It is reported by CNBC.
The American expert community is concerned about the "merging of military and civilian forces" that Beijing is implementing, practically without hiding its strategy aimed at strengthening naval capabilities. Not only is the Chinese navy the largest in the world, but it is also increasing its potential through the use of civilian ships.
With the help of civilian ships, China solves many tasks that would be difficult to accomplish with the forces of warships. In particular, in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, China pays fishing trawlers more than they could earn from fishing, just because these ships anchor for 280 days a year. Thus, Beijing indicates its claims to the disputed archipelago, said Gregory Pauling, director of the Asian Maritime Transparency Initiative.
Not so long ago, a special program of state subsidies was launched, which is aimed at stimulating the construction of new ships. The so-called. "Spratly island fleet" of trawlers. There are currently between 300 and 400 Chinese ships in the archipelago. Chinese trawlers prevent ships from other countries from fishing in the Spratly Islands. The governments of the Philippines, Vietnam and other countries claiming the archipelago cannot do anything.
Warships also do not have the right to act against civilian ships, otherwise China will accuse any country of provoking an incident with the use of force against civilians.
But incidents happen. For example, in 2019, a Chinese trawler rammed a Filipino boat that was anchored northeast of the Spratlys. The crew of the boat was then rescued by a passing Vietnamese trawler.
According to Pauling, whose opinion we quoted above, the use of civilian ships by the PRC in the event of a conflict greatly complicates the rules of warfare. Moreover, under the guise of fishermen, professional military sailors can also act.
In addition, China, according to American experts, is circumventing restrictions on the export of defense technology by building civilian ships, which, in fact, are only in name. For example, one of the research ships has the ability to launch sea and air unmanned vehicles, and can create military maps.
Naturally, such actions of China are not to the liking of its neighbors - from India to the Philippines. But most of all the indignation is expressed by the United States, which understands that in the foreseeable future they may face a serious confrontation with China in the Asia-Pacific region.
Information