SIMIC

CSIS called the foreign contracts "a tangible threat to national security" for some democracies in the region and said companies should consider US allies South Korea and Japan as alternative shipbuilding partners.

The CSIS report says that commercial shipbuilding efforts by prominent companies - including Carnival Cruise Lines, CMA CGM, and - are helping China finance warships.

Contracts between China's top state-owned shipbuilding firm and Taiwan's leading shipping company are likely lowering the costs of upgrading China's navy, posing security concerns for the island claimed by Beijing, says CSIS.

China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) is a key producer of vessels for China's rapidly expanding People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and is thought to be building its third aircraft carrier.

Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp has purchased 44 vessels from China since 2018, all but two of which were ordered from shipyards that produce Chinese warships, including CSSC, said the CSIS report.

Said Evergreen: "We believe the civil commercial shipbuilding activities have nothing to do with national naval projects."