China looks to a strong navy(2)

A missile frigate and helicopter join in the maritime memorial ceremony on Aug 27. CHA CHUNMING / XINHUA

During the 18th Communist Party of China Congress in late 2012, building a country with strong maritime power, including the capabilities of controlling, developing and protecting the ocean, was for the first time written in the Party's report. It became the top item in the agenda of China's development.

State oceanic administration figures showed that the gross value of maritime production hit 5.43 trillion yuan (885 billion) in 2013, accounting for 9.5 percent of China's GDP. More than 35 million people were involved in maritime-related industries.

The oceanic administration has completed 31 voyages covering the search for maritime mining areas. Since the 1980s, China has conducted 30 scientific investigation projects in the South Pole and five in the North Pole. In February 2014, Taishan station, China's fourth research station in the South Pole, was built.

By 2020, China's gross value of maritime production is expected to double and 2.6 million more people will be involved in maritime industries, Liu Cigui, head of the State Oceanic Administration, said in a speech in June.

China will be one of the major countries with strong maritime power around 2049, Liu said.

Protecting territory

"Oceans are not just seaways, they also have economic and military value," Wu Shengli said. "We are not just exploring the coastal waters, but will also develop the deep and far seas."

China has been protecting its maritime territory and will look to larger influence over international maritime issues, Wu said.

In July 2012, China established Sansha city, with its government seat on Yongxing Island, to administer the Xisha, Zongsha and Nansha islands and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea.

Two month later, China's first aircraft carrier, Liaoning, was launched.

Peace Ark, the PLA navy's hospital ship, has completed five humanitarian missions in more than 20 countries in South Asia, Africa and South America in the past four years.

The 17th escort fleet sailed in March and participated in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, before heading to the Gulf of Aden.

China has been fully involved in international maritime affairs and will be participating in a larger and wider scale, Wu said.

"But to some extent, China still needs to improve the awareness of maritime power," said Jin Hang, military expert from the PLA navy's East Sea Fleet.

Jin took the Millennium Monument, a landmark located in Beijing, as an example. He said the monument has only laid out yellow tiles to symbolize China's 9.6 million square kilometer land territory, neglecting the coastal areas. Many elementary and middle school geography textbooks also have no maps of China's maritime territory, he said.

Most Chinese know the size of China's land territory but few know the country also has 80,000 square kilometers of blue territory and 3 million square kilometers of waters on the continental shelf, Jin said.

"As it builds a strong navy, China should also keep exploring and developing its maritime territory," Jin said. "And people should know more about maritime power through textbooks, maps and museums."

The museum of the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 on Liugongdao is shaped like a battleship. On the entrance at the head of the ship, there is a statue of an admiral of the Qing Dynasty looking east through a telescope.

In front of the statue, there is a sculpture of a half-sunk cruiser representing a battleship destroyed by the Japanese and China's defeat.

"It takes courage to rethink about the shame of the Jiawu War," said Li Qiucheng, 47-year-old tourist from Hebei province.

"China has learned the lesson from the war and we won't let history repeat itself."