From cargo to combat: China urged to prepare civilian ships for wartime use

China should speed up plans to commandeer civilian ships for wartime operations, drawing lessons from Britain’s use of commercial vessels during the 1982 Falklands conflict, according to a defence researcher at Beijing’s top economic planning agency.

As maritime security threats and great-power competition grow, Beijing should make greater use of civilian ships to support military operations, according to an article published last month in Defence Industry Conversion in China.

“As China’s national security and development interests continue to extend into the maritime domain, the growing demands for maritime rights protection and military operations have increasingly highlighted the critical role of civilian ship mobilisation,” Li Jin, from the Research Centre for Coordinated Economic and National Defence Development at the National Development and Reform Commission, wrote.

According to the article, Britain’s experience in the Falklands showed the importance of having a large pool of civilian vessels, detailed mobilisation plans, ships designed with defence requirements in mind and effective compensation and incentive measures.

It noted that Britain mobilised dozens of civilian vessels within days of the outbreak of the war, using them to transport aircraft, fuel and other supplies, and to perform medical and support missions.

The author said China should conduct a general survey of its enormous civilian fleets to establish a comprehensive database, including information on their speed, carrying capacity, ownership and crew qualifications – especially for vessels with military potential such as oil tankers and semi-submersibles.

The article called for plans detailing command and communications arrangements, responses to unexpected situations and which vessels should be mobilised.