Our sister site Defense Tech forwarded an interesting post over to us that shows some kitted out Chinese sea raiders prepping for a mission.
In one of the first international defense deployments undertaken by the modern Chinese government, the People's Liberation Army Navy is deploying sailors for visit, board, search and seizure missions in the Gulf of Aden to help secure civilian shipping in those pirate infested waters.
The China Defense Blog rightly notes that if you take a close look at the pics, you'll see that some of the troops have attached vertical fore grips to their Type 95 carbines. As the CDB speculates -- and we agree -- this shows some loosening of regs and greater flexibility of customization by the operator.
We're also intrigued by the double flashlight attachments. Could this be an IR beam and a white light combo?
To us this shows a degree of professionalism not usually seen in such a large, conscript army governed by totalitarian leaders -- and even such a small thing should inform military planners who look at China's future threat...or cooperation.
