In a bid to help expand its reach in the South China Sea, Beijing has opened a new fishing port near the disputed Spratly Islands.

Last Monday, the Hainan city government opened the Yazhou Central Fishing Port in Hainan province.

Analysts have described the move as an attempt by Beijing to display its control over the islands and reefs in the South China Sea and expand its maritime presence in the disputed waters.

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According to Hainan Daily, the new port can house 800 boats. It would be able to accommodate by as much as 2,000 boats once the project is completed.

3 billion yuan

The Chinese government reportedly spent as much as 3 billion yuan ($450 million) on the project which is expected to be completed within this year.

Once completed, the fishing port would be able to handle 3,000-tonne vessels.The Hainan port is the largest port built in the southwestern part of the province so far.

China has announced that it would start building another port in Hainan, which can house 600 boats.

Fishing militia

Beijing has been accused of deploying a "fishing militia" to expand its maritime claims in the disputed sea. The Chinese government has allegedly been subsidizing expenses of fishermen to builder larger and stronger boats to go further into the sea.

However, Beijing has denied that the new fishing port was built to house its informal fishing militia saying that it was created to benefit local fishermen.

Nonetheless, analysts have noted that building fishing ports is one way for Beijing to support its bid to become a maritime power and extend its maritime reach in the disputed sea.

Lin Yongxin, deputy director of the Hainan-based National ­Institute for South China Sea Studies, said that with the establishment of large ports, Chinese fishermen could build bigger fishing boats and go further into the sea.

He also said that with a sturdy boat, local fishermen would be able to confront naval elements of Vietnam and the Philippines when they go fishing in the Spratly and Paracel Islands.

Tagsfishing militia, Yazhou Central Fishing Port, Hainan, South China Sea, china