You wouldn't need to drydock a ship in order to convert it to an auxiliary role. It would require the services of a shipyard, however. As to if the US monitors their shipyards. I don't know for certain, but I'd be willing to place a small wager that the US does keep an eye on their shipyards.
China is not near as vulnerable to submarine warfare as Japan is (was). Taking the time to flip through a copy of Combat Fleets of the World, China is still a navy intended for coastal defense. Yes they are building up blue-water units, but it will be several years before China reaches a level where they can be a serious player in the Pacific.
Having said that, its the Chinese development of extended-range anti-ship missiles that worries the USN. The development of the so-called anti-carrier ballistic missile can only be seen as a direct threat against PACFLT. This is one of the reason's behind the USN's new intrest in anti-missile defense (at least until some idiot politicain decides to kill the program and build another eight-lane highway to nowhere in his district).
A lot of the intrest right now is concerning the possible air group mix of their new toy. Will it be a VTOL/STOL or pure rotor or fixed wing? The composition of their air group will be a key indicator of just what mission is intended for their carrier.
Well, its time to fire up the ole BBQ and herd the heathens outside and let them expend energy in chasing each other around the yard. Enjoy your Sunday!
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The reason that the American Army does so well in wartime, is that war is chaos, and the American Army practices chaos on a daily basis.
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