Is China building a fleet of drone motherships to extend its naval reach?

A second unusual Chinese vessel suspected of being designed to launch and recover large underwater drones has appeared in Guangzhou, raising questions over whether Beijing is developing a fleet of specialised motherships to extend its undersea operations beyond coastal waters. The smaller vessel, seen under tow on the Pearl River in images circulating online, resembles a ship about 200 metres long seen at a Shanghai shipyard last month that has since been launched. Both feature conspicuous...