Civilian ships enhance naval capability and reach

FILE - Sri Lankan port workers hold a Chinese national flag to welcome Chinese research ship Yuan Wang 5 as it arrives in Hambantota International Port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. A Chinese scientific ship bristling with surveillance equipment docked in a Sri Lankan port. Hundreds of fishing boats anchored for months at a time among disputed islands in the South China Sea. And ocean-going ferries, built to be capable of carrying heavy vehicles and large loads of people. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)

BANGKOK: A Chinese scientific ship bristling with surveillance equipment docked in a Sri Lankan port. Hundreds of fishing boats anchored for months at a time among disputed islands in the South China Sea. And ocean-going ferries, built to be capable of carrying heavy vehicles and large loads of people.

All are ostensibly civilian ships, but experts and uneasy regional governments say they are part of a Chinese civil-military fusion strategy, little concealed by Beijing, that enhances its maritime capabilities.