China
Commentary: Chinese ocean presence a must for peaceful development
Source: Xinhua | 04-24-2009 08:42
Special Report: Chinese navy 60th anniversaryBEIJING, April 23 (Xinhua) -- After more than a year of preparations beneath local residents' eyes, an international fleet review massed in the water through which foreign warships entered China with opium in the 1890s.
![]() |
Chinese President Hu Jintao (L) waves to the navy vessels which are being reviewed while aboard the destroyer Shijiazhuang in waters off Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, April 23, 2009. A parade displayed 25 naval vessels and 31 aircrafts of the PLA Navy, including two nuclear submarines, as part of a celebration to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PLA Navy. (Xinhua/Wang Jianmin) |
There were limited options for the nation, which at the time was hiding behind its walls, to stake claim to its maritime interests on a planet three-quarters covered by water.