United States Naval Institute publishes an article advocating piracy against China BRI

[Song Hong]

China has aggressively expanded its global economic and diplomatic influence through its Belt and Road Initiative, but this expansion creates a vulnerability, as these investments must be protected.

China’s merchant fleet is large, because the cost to China of building and operating merchant ships is low, and its export-driven economy creates a huge demand. In 2018, China had 2,112 ships in its global merchant fleet and Hong Kong had another 2,185.7 In addition, China has a massive long-distance fishing fleet, estimated at 2,500 vessels.8

By contrast, the United States has only 246 ships in its merchant fleet.

Cruise the Seas for Chinese Gold

Capitalizing on Chinese vulnerabilities requires large numbers of ships, and the private sector could provide them. The ocean is large, and there are thousands of ports to hide in or dash between. While the Navy could not afford to have a multibillion-dollar destroyer sitting outside Rio de Janeiro for weeks waiting for Chinese vessels to leave, a privateer could patiently wait nearby as U.S. diplomats put pressure on (presumably neutral) Brazil.

Neither recruiting crews nor the need to arm ships would constitute a major obstacle. Privateers do not need to be heavily armed, because they would be taking on lightly (or un-) armed merchant vessels, choosing vulnerable targets, or acting cooperatively with other privateers. Since the goal is to capture the hulls and cargo, privateers do not want to sink the vessel, just convince the crew to surrender. How many merchant crews would be inclined to fight rather than surrender and spend the war in comfortable internment?



https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2020/april/unleash-privateers

 

[vi-va]

China has aggressively expanded its global economic and diplomatic influence through its Belt and Road Initiative, but this expansion creates a vulnerability, as these investments must be protected.

China’s merchant fleet is large, because the cost to China of building and operating merchant ships is low, and its export-driven economy creates a huge demand. In 2018, China had 2,112 ships in its global merchant fleet and Hong Kong had another 2,185.7 In addition, China has a massive long-distance fishing fleet, estimated at 2,500 vessels.8

By contrast, the United States has only 246 ships in its merchant fleet.

Cruise the Seas for Chinese Gold

Capitalizing on Chinese vulnerabilities requires large numbers of ships, and the private sector could provide them. The ocean is large, and there are thousands of ports to hide in or dash between. While the Navy could not afford to have a multibillion-dollar destroyer sitting outside Rio de Janeiro for weeks waiting for Chinese vessels to leave, a privateer could patiently wait nearby as U.S. diplomats put pressure on (presumably neutral) Brazil.

Neither recruiting crews nor the need to arm ships would constitute a major obstacle. Privateers do not need to be heavily armed, because they would be taking on lightly (or un-) armed merchant vessels, choosing vulnerable targets, or acting cooperatively with other privateers. Since the goal is to capture the hulls and cargo, privateers do not want to sink the vessel, just convince the crew to surrender. How many merchant crews would be inclined to fight rather than surrender and spend the war in comfortable internment?



https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2020/april/unleash-privateers

That's exactly what British did 2 hundreds years ago.

 

[Song Hong]

It must have been in the mind of war planners. For example
1. Arming Somali pirates (are they armed by USA?)

Is China building naval base as Djibouti a response to USA piracy initiative? (o yeah... MSM will say its a conspiracy theory)

 

[Han Patriot]

Unless Chinese battle group goes together with the merchant fleet. I believe a blockade might be more useful. It seems US is preparing for war with China. They know they can't invade China, so they are trying to attack our merchant fleet.

 

[8888888888888]

China need to expand the PLAN.

 

[Beidou2020]

US will team up with Somalian pirates or become pirates themselves to destroy China. US teamed up with terrorists to destroy Syria. An imperial empire will do anything in its power and capability to keep its empire.

China has to expand the Navy in a big way. Build Naval bases in key strategic locations.