Apparently, China is also building large floating islands too, for deployment in the South China Sea (and perhaps other locations too), to aid in their drilling for gas and oil resources.
They can be used militarily, as well, in order to house and support troops, amphibious and naval vehicles, and even aircraft.
These large floating vessels can cruise at up to 16 knots, and can be linked together to form larger platforms, that will be very hard to sink, as well.
The smallest are 300m x 90m in size, and the largest are 900m x 120m currently. They are modular though, so could be scaled up even further, if needed.
link
Clearly, China is not afraid to think outside the box when it comes to their expansionist plans.
I suspect it may not be too long before the South China Sea is guarded and controlled by these, their man-made islands, and naval and air units in the region.
Makes me wonder what the toll will be to transit goods across it, and/or how much it will cost to re-route large quantities of material around their South China Sea Exclusion Zone?
goes to sea with the Terrain Mat.
