Because of its geographic location, China must have a pow-erful naval force to safeguard its national interests. The countryhas more than 3 million square km of territorial sea area abun-dant in mineral, energy and other resources. In 2008, China"sgross ocean product approached 3 trillion yuan ($430 billion),up 11 percent year on year and accounting for 9.87 percent ofthe national gross domestic product. Defending maritime inter-ests and security is of vital importance to the nation"s sustainabledevelopment。