China Building Coast Guard Vessels Big Enough to Ram US Navy Ships

I would also not be surprised if in the future the Chinese use large “fishing boats” as well to try and block US Navy ships from moving through contested areas in the South China Sea.  The Chinese would love nothing more to have a “fishing boat” sunk to portray the US as the aggressors in the South China Sea and to rally domestic support.  The US Navy is going to have to really think through procedures to deal with being blocked and rammed by Chinese ships in the South China Sea:

China has announced its intention to build a massive new coast guard ship ostensibly to patrol its territorial waters, protect its fisheries, and uphold its laws. This is a huge ship and its physical characteristics fall far outside the norms associated with the coast guard mission. For instance, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Legend-class national security cutter is 418 feet long and displaces 4,500 tons of water. The Chinese cutter will be over 500 feet long and displace more than 10,000 tons. The ship will be lightly armed, with two 76mm guns and other small arms, but these are not important to its true mission. This ship and its follow-on sister ships are built for one purpose: to move other ships out of the way.  [Defense One]

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