LONDON • China likes to prepare the ground for major shifts in its security policies by making seemingly minor public announcements. And that may well be the case with a recent media statement by Mr Ni Jian, the Chinese Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

What he told a Reuters correspondent last week was certainly vague: China might consider using its own military ships to protect Chinese vessels sailing through the waters of the Persian Gulf, should the current military situation in the region deteriorate even further.