China’s navy has nine access paths to go to the ocean, but only three or four paths on the east side of China, between Japan and Taiwan, can be used frequently and do not require notification to other countries, the International Herald Leader reported. The U.S. and Japan have beefed up their military and surveillance capabilities to closely monitor and contain China’s navy. The report quoted an anonymous Navy official’s suggestion: China should use these ocean access channels more frequently and familiarize itself with the environment, build large surface ships to cover submarines to go to the ocean during wartime, and improve its capability to control these key access paths.
The report is a comment on the Japanese media’s heavy coverage of ten of China’s navy ships, including two submarines appearing in international waters between Okinawa and Miyako Island on April 10.
Source: International Herald Leader, April 26, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2010-04/26/content_13424980.htm