BEIJING, June 17 (UPI) -- China intends to boost its maritime forces as it asserts its claims over the South China Sea and its islands amid growing disputes with its neighbors.
China Daily, quoting a senior official with the China Maritime Surveillance, reported Friday the offshore law enforcement agency's plan is designed to ensure protection of the country's maritime interests.
The official, who was not named, said by 2020, the maritime force will have 15,000 personnel, up from the current 9,000. The agency's air arm will be increased to 16 planes and more than 520 vessels by 2020 from the current nine planes and more than 260 surveillance vessels.
The official said the agency already has begun building 36 patrol ships and 54 speedboats.
Tensions among claimants to the South China Sea and its Spratly Islands have heightened in the past two weeks after Vietnam accused Chinese patrol boats of snapping the cables of its ship involved in seismic research off its coast. The region is seen as rich in minerals and oil.
Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan also have differing claims in the area.
China says it has "indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands (Spratly Islands) and the surrounding waters." Beijing has asked all claimant countries to stop drilling for oil and gas.
In the latest development, China ordered its largest civilian maritime patrol ship, Haixun 31, into the South China Sea to protect national "rights and sovereignty," China Daily reported.
The 3,000-ton, helicopter-equipped Haixun 31 from the Chinese Maritime Safety Administration sailed from Guangdong province for Singapore on Wednesday to carry out surveying duties, inspect oil wells and "protect maritime security." It will also inspect foreign vessels anchored or operating in Chinese waters, the report said.
On Thursday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Beijing will not use force to solve the dispute, adding it is "committed to maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea."
