Beijing has developed two new kinds of mobile naval platforms to be deployed in the South China Sea. Like many of its installations there, the platforms can serve valuable functions both civil and military in nature, amplifying the effectiveness of China's maritime militia.
During the 2019 Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) in Malaysia last week, the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) unveiled a new offshore platform with two variants for use in the South China Sea.
The new system can be configured as a floating integrated information platform (IIFP) and or a more powerful island reef-based integrated information system (IRBIS). Both models are designed to be unmanned and provide a variety of methods for monitoring weather, the seas and human activity in the area. They're lightweight and can be deployed in shallow water by tugboat or other similar vessels, according to China Military Online.
The IIFP can serve as a 4G or shortwave communication base station, tsunami early warning facility and auxiliary navigation service, China Military Online reported. The larger IRBIS can do the same, but hosts much more powerful and numerous sensors.
However, China's Ministry of National Defense frankly admitted the platforms could also provide “continuous surveillance of [an] offshore target,” and might play important roles in “the construction on China's Nansha and Xisha Islands, defending the islands and reefs, and…
