Concerns rise over China coast guard's enforcement practices

The China Coast Guard (CCG) is far more than a maritime law enforcement agency.

Directly controlled by China's Central Military Commission, it serves as a blunt tool for the regime to enforce its territorial ambitions. The CCG's operations extend beyond mere law enforcement; they include intimidating foreign fishermen, enforcing China's territorial claims, and now, alarmingly, venturing deep into the Pacific Ocean.

As the world's largest maritime law enforcement agency, the CCG boasts over 150 regional and ocean-going vessels, each displacing at least 1,000 tons. Additionally, it has around 50 vessels in the 500-1,000 ton class and approximately 300 smaller coastal patrol boats. This vast fleet underscores the CCG's capacity to project pow er and enforce China's maritime claims.

Recent Aggressive Maneuvers China recently demonstrated its coercive power with the large-scale Joint Sword-2024A exercise on May 23-24, involving the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and CCG assets surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands. This exercise highlighted the potential threat of a future Chinese blockade of Taiwan. Earlier in February, the CCG intensified patrols around the Kinmen Islands, located just kilometers from the Chinese coast. Chinese state media later suggested that this "Kinmen model" of law enforcement could be applied to the Matsu and Penghu Islands and even the entire Taiwan Strait.

The CCG has been particularly aggressive in the South China Sea, enforcing dubious territorial claims. Its vessels have frequently rammed and fired water cannons at Philippine boats, especially those resupplying a military garrison on Second Thomas Shoal. In one recent incident, a Philippine Coast Guard vessel encountered a swarm of more than 30 maritime militia boats, three CCG vessels, three PLA Navy warships, and three research vessels in Escoda Shoal. CCG vessels also routinely track Japanese fishing boats near the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.