The Chinese navy apparently has been watching the U.S. Navy experiment with its new sea-base ships. Chinese media
recently highlighted a military training exercise involving army Z-8 transport helicopters and Z-19 scouts flying from the deck of
Zhen Hua 28, a civilian semi-submersible heavy load carrier.
For decades Beijing’s fleet has rented or borrowed commercial ships as an expedient method of expanding its modest-but-growing amphibious fleet. In wartime, the Chinese navy quickly could take up from trade scores or even hundreds of useful vessels, much like the Royal Navy famously did during the 1982 Falklands War.
Which is to say, in employing
Zhen Hua 28, the Chinese navy isn’t necessarily copying the Americans. But it is noteworthy that both fleets have, at around the same time, discovered the utility of submersible load-carriers.
Source: forbes.com