China is developing floating nuclear power stations to support its construction activities in the South China Sea, according to an article in the Communist Party’s Global Times magazine.
Liu Zhengguo, a director of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), the country’s largest shipbuilder, declined to confirm reports that China was planning to build 20 of the plants.
Liu added that the units would be based on well-established technology, and would be mainly for civilian purposes, such as providing electricity for oil platforms.
A Shanghai shipbuilding industry website reported that CSIC subsidiary Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Company would be responsible for building “about 20 such platforms in the future”.
Chinese naval expert Li Jie told the Global Times the platforms could power lighthouses, defense facilities, airports and harbours in the South China Sea.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, and is building islands on reefs to bolster its claims. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the waters.
An article in Japan’s Nikkei Asian review on 21 April, noted that “the US plans to start joint patrols in the waters with Japan, Australia and the Philippines. Bilateral cooperation is also deepening to curb China’s military ambitions”.
Meanwhile, the idea of floating modular reactors is also being pursued by Russia for use in oil and gas projects in the Arctic ocean, reportedly to be in action by October 2016.
