ON A SUNNY TUESDAY afternoon, a group of 20 People's Liberation Army (PLA) officers swarm over a Soviet-era aircraft carrier anchored in Shenzhen. In military uniform, they mingle with tourists walking over the retired flagship of the Pacific fleet - the Minsk - posing for photographs and talking excitedly.
A team of army cameramen follow the officers around as they take in the sight of the partly restored ship which has been opened as a floating museum called 'Minsk World' moored in a bay adjacent to Hong Kong territory.
They refuse to answer questions about whether their visit to the floating entertainment complex is for tourism or business purposes. But when asked about these PLA visitors, Minsk World spokesman Chan Zhongqi insists the reporter who witnessed them must have been seeing things. 'They are not PLA soldiers, you are just mistaken. They are our security guards,' he said.
Mr Chan says all visitors are civilians from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau - and soldiers did not come to the ship. He denied Minsk World had any links with the PLA or mainland organisations and insists the company is a private firm.
Nevertheless, their presence aboard the aircraft carrier will reinforce the view among some defence analysts that the mainland's military complex is eager to learn as much as possible about the powerful naval vessels. The PLA's navy has no aircraft carrier in its fleet, but some experts believe military planners in Beijing want to boost national prestige by acquiring the capability to project air power well beyond Chinese shores, possibly as early as 2010.
There is a proposal for another former Soviet carrier, the Varyag, to be moored in neighbouring Macau and turned into a floating hotel. Defence analysts are divided over Chinese for acquiring the Minsk and the Varyag: is it the beating of swords into ploughshares after the Cold War, or are they deals to allow China's military to get its hands on aircraft-carrier technology?
The Minsk was purchased by the Shenzhen consortium in 1998 from a South Korean company for US$5 million (about HK$39 million). The Korean company initially bought the carrier for scrap, but today it sits on the Shenzhen waterfront, newly painted after a 500 million yuan (about HK$469 million) refurbishment. And, for a 100 yuan-per-person entry fee, Minsk World is different as far as tourist attractions are concerned.