New Chinese fleet to secure disputed waters

China's ocean monitoring agency says it is adding ships and personnel to beef up enforcement of the country's vast maritime claims.

China Marine Surveillance says it will add 1,000 officers this year to raise staffing to 10,000 and will buy 36 new ships over the next five years. The China Daily reported that the agency presently has 300 vessels, along with 10 aircraft.

It said the increased capacity is needed to deal with a rising number of disputes involving China and other countries that share overlapping claims to waters and island groups in the South China and East China seas.