The defined goal of China, which has been widely analysed, is to achieve ‘the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’ by 2049, and the road to that would go through periods of cooperation and, later, confrontation with its main trading partners, that is, the USA and the rest of the democratic world, effectively changing the established world order as per their understanding.1 Considering the vast coastline of 18,000 km2 that China is blessed with and needs to defend, as well as the heavy dependence upon its maritime routes of mercantile communication, it is inevitable that China would nee