China turning its massive shipping container fleet into warships with long-range cruise missiles

China is reportedly fitting container ships with silos for long-range cruise missiles, effectively turning its massive freighter fleet into an extension of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)

The Washington Free Beacon reports that by adding cruise missiles to freighters, China is also essentially turning ports into military bases as well.

The site noted:

The new missile is in flight testing and is a land-attack variant of an advanced anti-ship missile called the YJ-18C, according to American defense officials.

The missile will be deployed in launchers that appear from the outside to be standard international shipping containers used throughout the world for moving millions of tons of goods, often on the deck of large freighters.

The YJ-18C is China’s version of the Club-K cruise missile built by Russia that also uses a launcher disguised as a shipping container. Israel also is working on a container-launched missile called the Lora.

If this doesn’t add a new wrinkle to the Trump administration’s trade negotiations to China, nothing does.

In fact, the discovery comes as the White House is completing details of a final trade agreement with Beijing that includes provisions allaying American concerns regarding illicit Chinese trade practices that no doubt includes theft of U.S. intellectual property.

In addition, however, the missile could also complicate and even disrupt Chinese plans to buy or build international ports as part of its Belt and Road Initiative that will provide Chinese warships and military assets a large network of bases and...

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