25 April 2016, 10:40 GMT
BEIJING (Sputnik) — According to the China Daily, Beijing is considering a possibility to deploy the vessel capable of carrying unmanned aerial vehicles and underwater robots in the second half of 2016.
It was added in the newspaper that the vessel would be deployed in order to help both China's and foreign ships in trouble.
Beijing’s territorial claims to the Spratly Islands, known as Nansha Islands in China, which are believed to be rich in oil and gas reserves, run counter to those of the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam. China has recently intensified construction works on the reefs it controls around the disputed Spratly Island archipelago.
