The Chinese are ordering their civilian merchant marine to be upgraded for military applications:

China’s government has passed new guidelines requiring civilian shipbuilders to ensure their vessels can be used by the military in the event of conflict, state-run media said on Thursday.

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.

China’s government will cover the costs of the plan, it added.

This is actually more significant than the Chinese naval expansion.

You cannot project power if you cannot support it, and the fact that the Chinese are implementing something very much like the US Maritime Security Program implies that they are getting serious about power projection.