China's navy is not trying to dominate the world, so what is it trying to do?
China's naval power is growing, having an impact on regional tensions and seeing ships from neighbouring nations targeted by Beijing's fleet.
However, according to one expert, China's navy is not trying to dominate the world's oceans, which begs the question, what is it trying to do?
Professor Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies at King's College London, said it is attempting to "maintain control of a vital sea area".
"It's very much a case of one country having an agenda to secure a region and other countries working out how to respond to that," he said.
"It is not in China's interest to start a major war."
A lot has changed in recent years for China's navy.
Two decades ago, in the early 2000s, the People's Liberation Army Navy was primarily a coastal defence force with an ageing fleet of Soviet-era vessels, limited power projection capabilities, and a lack of modern technological advancements.
But now, things couldn't be more different.
China has rapidly modernised and now has, numerically, the largest navy in the world with more than 350 ships, including three aircraft carriers, 12 nuclear and 48 diesel-powered submarines.
This growth in naval power has allowed it to implement its anti-access, or area denial strategy, in the South China Sea.
Prof Lambert said China wants "control of those seas", as well as the ability "to exclude all potential or real hostile forces from that sea area".
This is where that growth in navy power comes in, with China's strategy using naval assets to restrict freedom of navigation.
This is also seeing China challenging the balance of power across the Indo-Pacific, with the South China Sea a flashpoint in China's naval ambitions.
"The South China Sea would be the obvious place to impose economic sanctions against China," Prof Lambert said.
"China is very much leveraged into the global market now, it's not operating as the Soviet Union did in the Cold War, essentially a separate economy.
"It's absolutely plugged into and profiting from the global economy and whatever it can do in the South China Sea, it cannot control the seas beyond that region.
"So in the event of hostilities, it would be cut off from the rest of the world, not necessarily in the South China Sea, but certainly beyond it.
"We're looking at an attempt to maintain control of a vital sea area. We're not looking at an attempt to dominate the world ocean."
Beijing has laid claim to nearly the entire region, with its militarisation of artificial islands and increased patrols sparking tensions with neighbouring countries and raising concern with Nato.
In 2021, the UK took a proactive stance in defending international maritime norms, sending the Royal Navy's flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, through the South China Sea as part of its Indo-Pacific deployment.
It conducted exercises with allied navies in a show of strength and commitment to the free and open navigation of international waters
Prof Lambert said this sends "a very powerful signal that it is not one nation that is involved here".
"It is an alliance," he said. "And that alliance includes ships from the European sector, but also from the Asia Pacific."
The Taiwan Strait is another flashpoint, with China viewing Taiwan as a breakaway province – with Beijing not ruling out the use of force to bring the island under its control.
It frequently conducts naval drills near Taiwan, raising tensions with the US and allies who support Taiwan's right to self-defence.
A conflict in the Taiwan Strait could have far-reaching consequences for global security – Japan, Australia and Nato members could be drawn into it.
So while it is reassuring that China is not looking to start a war or dominate global shipping lanes, its focus on controlling the South China Sea is still a significant concern that has the potential to lead to escalation.
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