Chinese Container Ships Could Suddenly Launch Missiles, Experts Warn 0 13

China knows that the Russian Federation will support Beijing on the Taiwan issue. The country is grateful to Russia for its position on protecting its territorial integrity, said the Chinese ambassador to Russia, Zhang Hanhui, in an interview.

In addition, the Chinese ambassador in Moscow noted that Beijing will "resolutely respond to any malicious provocations regarding the Taiwan issue."

Meanwhile, China is beginning to implement the concept of converting civilian ships into military ones in case of a full-scale military conflict. This is facilitated, in particular, by the fact that the Celestial Empire today has the most powerful merchant fleet and shipbuilding industry in the world.

In the widely circulated images, we see a container ship at a large shipyard in Shanghai, on the deck of which are launch missile modules resembling cargo containers, radar systems, and other equipment typically used on combat ships.

This is a relatively new modular concept for converting civilian vessels into military ones. It was first implemented in 2011 in Russia in the form of a missile system based on standard 20-40-foot ISO containers, known in the West as Club-K.

The advantages of such systems are obvious — they can be easily installed on civilian merchant ships or among port infrastructure, significantly increasing naval power.

The published photos reveal vertical launch systems, 360-degree radar with phased array antennas, horizon radar, close-in weapon systems, and decoy launchers on cargo-type containers. Essentially, we have a merchant vessel transformed into a modern warship.

This concept, known as "military-civil fusion," allows for rapid force buildup in the event of a conflict, complicates the actions of the enemy, who is unaware of the looming threat from an ostensibly civilian ship, and significantly reduces the costs of maintaining a regular navy.