News Story: PLA's amphibious assault ships a response to weak force projection

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Hong Kong's Ming Pao reported Friday that the People's Liberation Army is building large amphibious assault ships to bolster gaps in its naval strategic doctrine.

The piece by Liang Kuo-liang said the PLA Navy considers large amphibious assault ships to be the ideal vehicle to fill the void between its aircraft carriers — of which China has one at present — and nuclear submarines.

According to the report, in 2004 the push towards the adoption of amphibious assault ships garnered consensus across China's military.

The report further said that the recent flare-ups of civil war in South Sudan, where the state-run China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has huge investments, exposed weakness in China's naval force projection.

Read the full story at Want China Times