evidence: China is perfecting its anti-access/area-denial capabilities while also establishing a more robust fleet aimed at blue-water operations. China remains active in counterpiracy operations off the coast of Africa and is enhancing its ability to project power farther into the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Chinese submarines, warships, and aircraft are operating far from their home waters more frequently, and in 2014 a Chinese Song-class submarine made a foreign port call for the first time ever, stopping in Sri Lanka while a Chinese destroyer and frigate helped strengthen ties with Iran during a visit to Bandar Abbas. This past summer several modern PLAN warships attended the RIMPAC naval exercises hosted by the United States, as a non-participating Chinese intelligence-collection ship also watched and monitored the exercises from afar. Chinese naval and military technology is closing the gap with Western capabilities, as its scientists work to copy and design advanced systems that are entering service on board increasingly capable warships. Space surveillance is also expanding with the launch of new satellites thought to have an ocean-surveillance capability. [...] China’s amphibious fleet has not been left behind in the buildup, and a fourth Type 071 amphibious-assault ship is thought to be under construction while a new class of large-deck helicopter-carrying amphibious-assault ship, dubbed the Type 081, is thought to be planned for the future.