Photo suggests China's 10,000-ton patrol boat ready for launch

Photos taken by an internet user suggest that China's new 10,000-ton coast guard patrol boat is almost ready to enter service according to the Global Times, a paper published under the auspices of the Communist party mouthpiece People's Daily, on Nov. 4.

The photo posted on the internet. (Internet photo)

The photo showed the boat bearing the characters "China Coast Guard" and colored flags. The shot was taken at an unknown shipyard under the control of the People's Liberation Army.

With China facing disputes with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines in the East and South China seas, Global Times said the country's coast guard requires larger patrol vessels with mounted cannon.

Most Chinese maritime security vessels patrolling the South and East China seas have neither cannon nor machine guns, according to the report, while Japan's patrol vessels have 20mm or 40mm guns.

China's defense industry is capable of designing guns and cannon for maritime security vessels, Global Times said, suggesting that guns between 57mm and 76mm — bigger than Japan's, in other words — would be most suitable for China's coast guard vessels with displacement of more than 3,000 tons. However, other advanced weapons system such as anti-ship missiles would be too big, as these are naval weapons, Global Times added thoughtfully.

Global Times is a nationalistic tabloid which frequently publishes provocative articles as a test balloon for what may later become the government's official line, as would be printed in its parent publication People's Daily.

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