China maritime naval buildup of amphibious landing ships comes amid mounting maritime tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, a possible geopolitical stress point in the coming decade.
Japan and China are locking horns over islands each claims in the East China Sea; Vietnam, the Philippines. Other nations are disputing territorial claims with China over parts of the South China Sea thought to be rich in oil and gas.
The U.S. Navy has announced it will deploy its own new amphibious assault vessels, the Littoral Combat Ships, to the "maritime crossroads" of the Asia-Pacific theater, stationing them in Singapore and perhaps the Philippines.
Xi Jinping, the man destined to become China's new president later this year, called for enhanced military cooperation between the Pacific powers during a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Monday in Washington.
This follows on the heels of the recently begun S.Korean and U.S. 'war games' off the coast of S.Korea where new US bases are under construction on the island of Jeju just 300 miles off the coast of China.
By, C. Maness
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