![]() ![]() ![]() China expanding its presence outside Asia " aircraft carriers and planned follow-on carriers, once operational, will extend air defence coverage beyond the range of coastal and shipboard missile systems and will enable task group operations at increasingly longer ranges," the Defence Department said. In its report to the US Congress last year on China's military capabilities, the Department of Defence said the carrier development program was critical to the Chinese navy's continued development into a global force, "gradually extending its operational reach beyond east Asia". The US Navy has sailed warships past artificial islands China has built in the sea that are equipped with airstrips and other military facilities.Ĭhina insists its territory extends to those islands, while the US Navy says it conducts the missions there to ensure the free flow of international trade. It holds rich but quickly declining fishing stocks and significant undersea oil and gas deposits.Ĭhina has been far and away the most aggressive in asserting its claim to virtually the entire waterway, its island features and resources. ![]() The maritime region has been tense because six governments claim all or part of the strategically vital waterway, through which an estimated $US5 trillion in global trade travels each year. ![]() China's PLAN has been modernising for more than a decade to become more of a "blue water" force - one capable of operating globally rather than being restricted to remaining closer to the Chinese mainland.Īt the same time, the US has been increasing its focus on the region, including the South China Sea. ![]()
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