The Chinese Coast Guard has assigned its huge new patrol vessel, the CCG 2901, to its eastern division, which controls activities in the East China Sea. The CCG 2901 has a displacement of 12,000 tons — far surpassing in scale the Japan Coast Guard's Shikishima and Akitsushima patrol boats, which belong to the world's top tier of coast guard vessels, with full displacements of 6,500 tons.
The Chinese reverence for size and abundance explains the country's tendency to believe that anything "bigger is better." But as it rises to a superpower status, China has begun to assume a more fiercely aggressive stance toward its rivals, as if to say that "being bigger also means being more important."
Dubbed "the monster" by the Chinese media, the new coast guard vessel is one component of China's broader strategy to inspire shock and awe. U.S. Navy Adm. Harry Harris, head of the United States Pacific Command, has noted that the CCG 2901, which was "designed purely for ramming attacks on other vessels," is "bigger than the Arleigh Burke destroyer" of the U.S. Navy, which has a total displacement of 9,500 tons.