China to deploy world’s largest coast guard ship next year

A ship with a displacement of 10,000 tons is set to be deployed by the China Coast Guard next year, the largest coast guard vessel in the world, according to Shanghai-based New Outlook.

On Dec. 13 a Chinese netizen uploaded a picture of the ship at the Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard, which shows that the country’s first coast guard ship to break the 10,000 ton displacement mark is already in water and the paintwork is almost complete. The vessel, the Haijing 2901, is bigger than any of the Japan Coast Guard ships, making it the biggest coast guard ship in the world. The ship will be deployed in spring next year at the earliest, according to reports.

Surveillance facility eyed for Pacific

BANGKOK – The Defense Ministry plans to build a communications intelligence facility on Iwoto Island in the Pacific to improve its ability to conduct surveillance on China and its growing military presence, a government source said Thursday.

The ministry’s budget request for next fiscal year includes part of the ¥12 billion needed to build the facility, which would come online in fiscal 2017, the source said. Iwoto, about 1,250 km south of Tokyo, used to be known as Iwojima and was the site of a terrible battle during World War II. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera will visit the island early next month.