PUBLISHED: NOVEMBER 18, 2021 CSIS

Over the past year, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and the Center for Advanced Defense Studies conducted a study of China’s maritime militia using remote sensing data and open-source Chinese language research. The resulting report, Pulling Back the Curtain on China’s Maritime Militia, features the most comprehensive study to-date of the structure, subsidies, and ownership networks of China’s maritime militia in the South China Sea, as well as a methodology for identifying Chinese maritime militia vessels and a list of over 120 militia vessels thus identified.

The full report can be accessed here:

Pulling Back the Curtain on China’s Maritime Militia (full PDF download)

Translations:

Menyingkap Semula Tirai Tentera Maritim Cina (Malay Translation)

Vén màn sự thật về Dân quân Hàng hải Trung Quốc (Vietnamese Translation)

Executive Summary

Since completing the construction of its artificial island outposts in the Spratly Islands in 2016, China has shifted its focus toward asserting control over peacetime activity across the South China Sea. A key component of this shift has been the expansion of China’s maritime militia—a force of vessels ostensibly engaged in commercial fishing but which in fact operate alongside Chinese law enforcement and military to achieve Chinese political objectives in disputed waters.

VN Youtuber – 28/5/2023

Năm 1970, Philippines bí mật đưa quân đổ bộ chiếm một số đảo ở Trường Sa. 5 năm sau, quân Nam Việt đã lập mưu để đoạt lại một đảo từ tay người Philippines là đảo Song Tử Tây.

Marcos Jr-Chinh reviving dormant de facto alliance to check, balance and challenge China in disputed and militarized waters

By RICHARD JAVAD HEYDARIAN MAY 25, 2023 Asia Times

MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has not only revitalized defense ties with traditional Western allies but has also doubled down on strategic cooperation with like-minded regional states pushing back against China’s South China Sea assertiveness.

In particular, Vietnam has emerged as a pivotal player in the Philippines’ emerging regional strategy to constrain and roll back China’s ambitions in the hotly contested and geostrategically crucial maritime area.

Continue reading Philippines-Vietnam teaming up on China in South China Sea →

Nghiencuubiendong – 26/05/2023

Trả lời câu hỏi phóng viên chiều ngày 25/5/2023, Phó Phát ngôn Bộ Ngoại giao Việt Nam Phạm Thu Hằng cho biết, tàu khảo sát Hướng Dương Hồng 10 (XYH-10) của Trung Quốc cùng một số tàu hải cảnh, tàu cá bảo vệ đã xâm phạm vùng đặc quyền kinh tế của Việt Nam được xác lập phù hợp với các quy định của Công ước Liên Hiệp Quốc về Luật biển năm 1982. Trước đó, theo tin từ Reuters, tàu XYH-10 cùng loạt tàu hộ tống đã xuất hiện tại vùng đặc quyền kinh tế của Việt Nam từ ngày 8/5.    

Continue reading Tàu Hướng Dương Hồng 10 của Trung Quốc vi phạm vùng biển Việt Nam: Ý đồ và Hậu quả quốc tế →

By: Kurt Dela Peña May 04, 2023 globalnation.inquirer.net

COMPOSITE IMAGE: JEROME CRISTOBAL FROM INQ/STOCK/PAMALAKAYA FILE PHOTOS

(First of two parts)

MANILA, Philippines—China is building a maritime ‘Great Wall’ in the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, according to analysts who have been keeping tabs on Chinese aggression in the disputed waters.

But unlike the engineering marvel Great Wall built mainly for defense, the one that China is building on seas far from its coast is also for dominance, the analysts said.

In the 1990s, China started building structures over coral reefs and islets inside the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea. This was met by so far the strongest protest from the Philippine government—an arbitration case over the Scarborough Shoal standoff in 2012.

But China, instead, “flexed more of its military muscle.” The intrusion continued with impunity.

PRESS STATEMENT

OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON

US STATE DEPARTMENT

APRIL 29, 2023

The United States stands with The Philippines in the face of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Coast Guard’s continued infringement upon freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Imagery and video recently published in the media is a stark reminder of PRC harassment and intimidation of Philippine vessels as they undertake routine patrols within their exclusive economic zone.  We call upon Beijing to desist from its provocative and unsafe conduct. The United States continues to track and monitor these interactions closely.

Stephen Chen in Beijing,SCMP

Published: 6:00pm, 1 Apr, 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

6

China operates one of the world’s largest ocean surveying fleets but survey routes have often lacked transparency and varied from one mission to another. Photo: Xinhua

Beijing has for the first time listed the specific locations to be visited regularly by Chinese ocean research vessels, including disputed areas of the South China Sea and waters close to US Pacific bases.

The 33 areas, or “reference sections”, cover a wide span of regional waterways – from the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea to the western Pacific and eastern Indian oceans – according to the announcement from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), a top government research funder.

Continue reading China plots 33 spots for regular research ship visits, in Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, Pacific and Indian oceans →

Al Jazeera English – 23-3-2023

The United States has denied Chinese claims that a US destroyer was driven out from waters around the contested Paracel Islands after it “illegally” entered the area.

China’s state media described the US ship as having trespassed in “Chinese territorial waters”.

The US Navy on Thursday disputed the PLA statement, saying the destroyer was conducting “routine operations” in the South China Sea and was not expelled by Chinese ships.

Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu joins us live from Beijing to give us the latest updates.

UPDATED 7:13 CH 27 THG 2, 2023 SGT

MANILA – The Philippines has filed 10 diplomatic protests against China over alleged “violations” in the South China Sea barely two months into 2023, underscoring renewed tensions between the two nations over the disputed waters.

These form part of the 77 diplomatic protests filed against China under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Monday.

ASEAN members strike South China Sea deal that upholds UNCLOS and tacitly rejects China’s nine-dash line

asiatimes – By BICH TRAN – FEBRUARY 17, 2023

Vietnam and Indonesia agreed to delimit their respective Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) on 22 December 2022 after 12 years of negotiations. The agreement provides hope for the strengthening of the region’s commitment to international maritime norms and principles encapsulated in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Continue reading Indonesia-Vietnam EEZ pact sends firm message to China →

SÁNG ÁNH 12/02/2023 09:22 GMT+7

TTCT – Dù là đồng minh có hiệp ước của nhau và vừa thắt chặt thêm tình hữu nghị về quân sự, quan hệ Mỹ – Philippines thật ra không phải lúc nào cũng bằng phẳng.

Khi tôi đến thăm Subic Bay năm 1998, khu chế xuất vừa hoạt động và hãng xưởng còn lưa thưa. Đây là khu miễn thuế, ra vào phải qua kiểm soát hải quan, chỗ mua sắm chỉ có vài hàng quán mới mở và loãng khách với một khu phức hợp và ba rạp phim. 

Cả khu còn do quân đội Philippines quản lý, hoang vắng với những nhà kho tiền chế và bungalow quân đội Mỹ bỏ lại nằm bắt bụi từ 1992.

Continue reading Căn cứ mới của Mỹ ở Philippines: Không dễ ăn của ngoại… →

What does Japan’s military expansion mean for the region? | Inside Story

Al Jazeera English – 19 thg 12, 2022

Japan says the strategic challenge posed by China is the biggest it has ever faced.

Besides Beijing, Japan has two other nuclear-armed neighbours in North Korea and Russia.

It has expressed concerns about intensifying Russian military activity in its far east, even as Moscow presses on with its war against Ukraine.

And a North Korean missile flew over Japan in October. Continue reading What does Japan’s military expansion mean for the region? →

PUBLISHED: JANUARY 30, 2023, AMTI

China’s coast guard presence in the South China Sea is more robust than ever. An analysis of automatic identification system (AIS) data from commercial provider MarineTraffic shows that the China Coast Guard (CCG) maintained near-daily patrols at key features across the South China Sea in 2022. Together with the ubiquitous presence of its maritime militia, China’s constant coast guard patrols show Beijing’s determination to assert control over the vast maritime zone within its claimed nine-dash line.

China Coast Guard Patrols in the South China Sea
2022

https://csis-ilab.github.io/amti-viz/coast-guard-timeline-2022/

AMTI analyzed AIS data from the year 2022 across the five features most frequented by Chinese patrols: Second Thomas Shoal, Luconia Shoals, Scarborough Shoal, Vanguard Bank, and Thitu Island. Comparison with data from 2020 shows that the number of calendar days that a CCG vessel patrolled near these features increased across the board.

The number of days the CCG patrolled at Vanguard Bank, a major site of Vietnamese oil and gas development that has seen standoffs between Chinese and Vietnamese law enforcement in years past, more than doubled, increasing from 142 days in 2020 to 310 days in 2022. Days patrolled at Second Thomas Shoal, where the Philippines maintains a precarious garrison aboard the BRP Sierra Madre, increased from 232 days to 279; those at Luconia Shoals, near important Malaysian oil and gas operations, from 279 to 316; and at Scarborough Shoal, traditionally fished and administered by the Philippines, from 287 to 344. Data on the reefs surrounding Philippine-held Thitu Island was not collected in previous analyses, but CCG vessels were on site 208 days over the past year. At some features, especially Scarborough Shoal, multiple CCG vessels were present simultaneously. Observed patrols across all five features amounted to 1,703 ship-days in total.