March 28, 2014
BEIJING — China's participation in the international search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is giving its military a rare opportunity to operate in areas far from home and shape views about its military might.
It's not every day that Chinese planes touch down in Australia and Chinese naval vessels cruise past Christmas Island. In fact it is rare.
China has deployed some 13 ships to aid the hunt for the missing plane, its biggest ever such deployment so far from home. Security analyst James Nolt told VOA via Skype that the deployment is significant.
"This is important because China is participating in a multinational effort to locate the remains or the debris from the plane, China hasn't operated much in the Indian Ocean before, but it also doesn't have bases in the region so it has to operate from other countries such as Australia," he said.
China's expanding military might is a persistent concern in the region, as is the perception that through its territorial disputes, Beijing is angling to challenge the United States and Japan.