Vessels of the China Coast Guard conduct law enforcement exercises in an undisclosed area in Autumn 2022. Photo: Screenshot from WeChat account of China Coast Guard

Facing recent rights-infringing moves from the Philippines in the South China Sea, the Taiwan authorities near Kinmen in the Taiwan Straits and Japan around the Diaoyu Islands, the China Coast Guard (CCG) carried out intensive law enforcement activities, displaying its capabilities gained from high-quality development and in firmly safeguarding China's territorial sovereignty and maritime interests and upholding order, experts said on Thursday.

On Thursday, the CCG repelled, in accordance with the law, the Ship 3002 of the Philippines' Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources when the vessel illegally intruded into waters adjacent to China's Huangyan Dao (also known as Huangyan Island) in the South China Sea, the CCG said in a notice on the day.

In February alone, the CCG released at least five notices or statements on its measures against illegal Philippine moves around Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea, namely Huangyan Dao and Ren'ai Jiao (also known as Ren'ai Reef), with analysts saying the CCG effectively dealt with the Philippines' attempt to take advantage of China's Spring Festival holidays and firmly defended national sovereign security and maritime rights.

Since August 2023, the Philippines has ramped up provocations on Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea by repeatedly attempting to send illegal building materials to its warship illegally grounded on China's Ren'ai Jiao and trespassing into waters adjacent to China's Huangyan Dao.

Most of the Philippine provocations were made by coast guard ships, government ships and fishing ships, so the Chinese side reciprocally sent CCG ships and took legitimate, professional and restrained measures, experts said.

Ding Duo, a deputy director of the Institute of Maritime Law and Policy at the China Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday that the CCG's law enforcement activities in the South China Sea aim to safeguard China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.

The CCG plays a special role in safeguarding territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, as it can not only send warnings and effectively defend territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, but at the same time its measures are less likely to lead to conflicts, experts said.

Sending the CCG also shows that the essence of the South China Sea issue for China is about territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation, and China's measures are not about geopolitics or military confrontation, Ding said, noting that it is the Philippines and the US that are generalizing the issue and promoting militarization, with an example being the Philippine-US joint military patrols.

The more frequent and intensive the Philippines provokes, the more frequent and intensive the CCG's control measures will be, and this reflects China's jurisdiction over the islands and reefs in the South China Sea, analysts said.

In the Taiwan Straits, after a Chinese mainland fishing boat was treated brutally by Taiwan authorities in waters near Taiwan authorities-administered Kinmen Island on February 14, which led to all four people on board falling into the sea and two of them dead, the CCG announced on Sunday that the coast guard of East China's Fujian Province will strengthen its maritime law enforcement and carry out regular law enforcement and patrols in the waters between Fujian's Xiamen and Kinmen to ensure the safety of fishermen's lives and property.

Taking place at a time when the cross-Straits relations are particularly sensitive especially after separatist Lai Ching-te just won Taiwan's regional leader election, the recent incident off Kinmen was a serious one because it caused casualties, but similar situations in which Taiwan authorities brutally treated mainland fishing ships have often occurred, experts said, noting that previously, the Chinese mainland showed much goodwill, provided many benefits to Taiwan compatriots and did not take forceful measures as much in related incidents, but that does not mean the mainland is not capable of doing so.

Some analysts on the island said the CCG could conduct its patrols in the Taiwan Straits as those around the Diaoyu Islands in asserting law enforcement rights.  

The CCG regularly holds patrols around the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, with the latest announcement made on February 6, saying that the CCG Flotilla 2502 conducted patrols in Chinese territorial waters off the Diaoyu Islands on the day in a move to safeguard rights.

On January 27, several Japanese vessels illegally entered Chinese territorial waters off the Diaoyu Islands, and CCG vessels took necessary control measures and repelled them in accordance with the law, a CCG spokesperson said at the time.

Before the latest incidents in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits, media mostly focused on the CCG because of its activities around the Diaoyu Islands, a Beijing-based military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday.

The CCG started routine patrols to defend territorial sovereignty and maritime rights after Japan's attempt to "nationalize" the Diaoyu Islands in 2012, observers noted. The Japanese side frequently sensationalizes the CCG's legitimate activities, while the Chinese side also announced its patrols on a routine basis.

The CCG's regular patrols and constant presence in effect asserted China's sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Diaoyu Islands, the expert said.

While the South China Sea issue and the Diaoyu Islands issue are fundamentally different from the Taiwan question, with the former two involving territorial sovereignty and maritime delimitation with other countries and the latter one being China's internal affair, the islands and reefs in the South China Sea, the Diaoyu Islands and Kinmen, as well as all islands administered by Taiwan authorities, are all Chinese territories, experts pointed out.

In recent years, the CCG enhanced its equipment in both quality and quantity, including commissioning more vessels and boosting logistics support, trained more personnel, and had them deployed in missions throughout the year, realizing effective control in hot regions, another Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday.

According to publicly available information, the CCG has commissioned 10,000 ton-class cutters, and has received transfers of Type 056 corvettes from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, which are deemed powerful additions to the CCG fleet.

With the CCG's continued development, the CCG's law enforcement in related waters will become even more intensive to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and uphold order, the expert said.