Chinese coastguard has 0.3% chance of using weapons in disputed waters, war game suggests
A Chinese coastguard ship is shielding a cluster of fishing boats when several small, fast vessels begin circling – sometimes darting closer, sometimes backing off. Are they just curious fishermen? Or are they probing for a weak spot, trying to lure the patrol ship into a trap? In the real world, a split-second decision could escalate a tense maritime stand-off into something far more dangerous.…
Chinese coastguard researchers have revealed that their computer war game shows a mere 0.3 percent chance of the coastguard resorting to lethal weapons in disputed waters. This low risk, however, is unacceptable to Beijing, prompting the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) framework that can better assess the intentions of nearby vessels.
The AI system continuously calculates the odds of various potential intentions, such as routine fishing or coordinated harassment, and adjusts its response accordingly. In one simulation, the AI predicted a 68 percent probability of a nearby vessel intentionally provoking the coastguard, prompting a water cannon response. Compared to the older rule-based system, the AI approach reduces the risk of weapons use to zero and cuts overall rule breaches.
The new AI-based method also makes war games more realistic, exposing weaknesses in current plans and improving decision-support tools for human commanders.
Written by urgent.news from Reuters Business via SCMP's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.