The South China seas are notoriously difficult to navigate and subject to extreme weather conditions.

The large, strong and multiple-sailed junk was China’s answer to this problem and the junk reached a zenith during the Song dynasty, which ended in the latter part of the 13th century.

The superlative junk design was then extended to its maximum under Admiral Zheng He, for his huge-scale expeditions across the Indian Ocean. Large swathes of the Indian Ocean territories came under Chinese control during the early part of the 15th century.

But China suffered a reversal in its maritime fortunes. Historians suggest that internal political struggles within the Chinese court led to a loss of focus on China’s fleet. Land based threats from potential invaders were a cause of great anxiety for China’s leaders and a policy focusing on inward development and international isolationism evolved. China’s naval prowess declined rapidly until, less than a century later, it became a crime to set sail from China in a multi-masted ship.

China gave way to the squabbling and fiercely expansionist European powers and the golden age of European naval development began.