China's government has passed new guidelines requiring civilian shipbuilders to ensure their vessels can be used by the military in the event of a conflict, state-run media said on yesterday. The regulations require five categories of vessels including container ships to be modified to "serve national defence needs", the state-run China Daily newspaper said. The regulations "will enable China to convert the considerable potential of its civilian fleet into military strength", it said. The report said that China had about 172,000 civilian ships at the end of last year, suggesting the measure could be a major boost to China's navy.

Report: China orders civilian ships adapted for military use. (2015, June 19). The Philippine Star, p. A-25.