China Showcases Rising Maritime Power in Airliner Search

China, in the midst of a military buildup challenging the U.S. and Japan, is showcasing its expanded capabilities in the search for Malaysia’s missing plane by deploying hardware from satellites to warships to an icebreaker.

With pictures of gray-hulled naval vessels and planes operating in seas thousands of miles from Chinese shores, state media has hailed the hunt for Malaysia Air Flight MH370 as the country’s “strongest-ever search and rescue.” China, which had a majority of the passengers on the Beijing-bound flight, says it has sent at least 13 ships to the search zone in the Indian Ocean.