South China Sea: state TV airs Chinese navy captain’s vow to defend ‘our ancestral sea’ amid fresh tensions in waterway
- CCTV broadcasts an interview with the captain of Type 075 amphibious assault ship a day after confrontation between Chinese coastguard and a Filipino supply vessel
- Captain Zhang Meiyu says the Chinese navy is ‘moving ever farther into the oceans to safeguard the various interests of our country and its people overseas’
A day after a confrontation with the Philippines, China’s state broadcaster highlighted the PLA’s role in defending the South China Sea by airing an interview with the captain of the Chinese navy’s largest helicopter carrier.
“My dream is one day we are able to fully and independently protect our maritime rights and interests on our own ancestral sea,” Zhang was quoted as saying.
“Ancestral sea” is a common reference in Chinese state propaganda to the South China Sea, while the Hainan is part of the PLAN’s South Sea Fleet that oversees the region.
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China claims most of the South China Sea while the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei all have overlapping claims.
Zhang said his 40,000-tonne vessel was a steel “mobile city on the sea and a fortress for naval combat”. He said it could host various forces, including helicopters, tanks, amphibious vehicles and other supplies on the high seas.
The Type 075 LHD has a 232-metre-long flat flight deck to operate six helicopters simultaneously. With huge hangar space inside, it can carrying up to 30 helicopters, or 35 amphibious vehicles and three large air-cushioned landing craft, and nearly 1,000 marines.
The ship has a vehicle gate on each side, allowing the amphibious vehicles to easily drive in and out, according to Zhang.
The Hainan was declared combat ready in 2022 and reportedly trained in the South China Sea and the western Pacific this year.
When the Type 075 was first introduced, military observers said that while the massive LHD was more than adequate to overwhelm any rival claimant of the South China Sea islands and reefs, it had more important roles in a potential Taiwan operation or as part of Beijing’s projection of power over bigger distances.
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“We must be able to fight on faraway oceans,” Zhang said. “We are also moving ever farther into the oceans to safeguard the various interests of our country and its people overseas.”
Zhang was among 13 Chinese military personnel praised by the central propaganda department and the military’s political work department as role models on July 31, the eve of the 96th anniversary of the founding the PLA.
The programme was broadcast at a time when disputes in the South China Sea have sparked fresh tensions between China and its neighbours.
Manila summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest while Beijing defended its manoeuvre as “professional and restrained”.
