CHINA'S PHANTOM FLEET

摘要

THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA'S People's Liberation Army Navy has three well-known fleets—the North Sea, East Sea and South Sea fleets. Yet, China boasts another large group of ships that serves the country's naval objectives but is relatively unknown. The ships do not belong to any of the three designated fleets, but they carry out functions that include aggres-sive actions in international waters against a variety of other maritime entities, ranging from fishing fleets to military surveillance shipsThese Chinese ships comprise various paramilitary or "civilian" fleets that are controlled by Chinese military direction. Their stated missions can range from commercial fishing tomaritime border patrol. But, under Chinese military control, this diverse collection of vessels constitutes a Fourth Fleet for the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)James C. Bussert is employed at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren, Virginia, where he works on surface ship antisubmarine fire control systems. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Defense Department or the U.S. Navy