South China Sea and China (2018 onwards)

[AdamG]

A 15 year old sea-story, which begs the question 'how much of a learning curve has the Chinese navy climbed since then?'

On April 25, 2003 the crew of a Chinese fishing boat noticed a strange sight—a periscope drifting listlessly above the surface of the water. The fishermen notified the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) which promptly dispatched two vessels to investigate.
At first the PLAN believed the contact to be an intruding submarine from South Korea or Japan. But when Chinese personnel finally recovered the apparent derelict they realized it was one of their own diesel-electric submarines, the Ming-class 361.
When they boarded on April 26, they found all seventy personnel slumped dead at their stations.

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the...d-25072?page=1

...cause they're all about Force Projection these days

PLA Navy at 69 faces increasing challenges from US
By Yang Sheng Source:Global Times Published: 2018/4/23 21:48:41
More logistics bases needed to achieve overseas missions

The PLA Daily and the Ministry of Defense released a video on their official websites and social media accounts showcasing the achievements of the PLA Navy in recent years. The video provides details on China's nuclear submarines, the country's first overseas logistics base in Djibouti, anti-piracy missions in Somalia, amphibious landing military exercises by the Marine Corps and the aircraft carrier strike group's training missions in the open seas.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1099311.shtml

Newsweek's 6th grade level siphoning-off of the Global Times article above
http://www.newsweek.com/how-does-chi...pare-us-897209