32. Why does the author state that fire attacks "represented a known threat in both European and Chinese naval warfare traditions"?
(A) To argue that historical records of the effectiveness of fire attacks are unreliable.
(B) To suggest that both commanders were deliberately negligent in their command duties.
(C) To demonstrate that fire attacks had been successfully defended against in previous naval battles.
(D) To emphasize that the defeats were caused by organizational factors, not by ignorance of fire as a weapon.