www.nytimes.com Open in urlscan Pro
151.101.65.164  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Skip to contentSkip to site index
Search & Section Navigation
Section Navigation
SEARCH

SUBSCRIBE FOR $1/WEEKLog in


COMMENTS 150

Fleets of ForceSkip to Comments
Share your thoughts.
The Times needs your voice. We welcome your on-topic commentary, criticism and
expertise. Comments are moderated for civility.


Dots show Chinese
ships’ movements
Shanghai
Pacific Ocean
South China Sea
East China Sea
Japan
South
Korea
Taiwan
Philippines
Philippines
Brunei
Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia
Vietnam
Vietnam
Indonesia
Indonesia
China
China
Philippines exclusive economic zone
Mischief Reef
occupied by China
Second Thomas Shoal
occupied by the Philippines
Mischief Reef
occupied by China
Second Thomas Shoal
occupied by the Philippines
Union Bank
occupied by China
and Vietnam
Subi Reef
occupied by China
Palawan
Spratly Islands
Spratly Islands
Chinese militia
Philippine
coast guard
Chinese coast guard



FLEETS OF FORCE

How China strong-armed its way into dominating the South China Sea.

By Agnes Chang and Hannah Beech Nov. 16, 2023

Beijing says many of these boats are just fishing. But they bristle with machine
guns, rocket-propelled grenades and high-velocity water cannons. They’re here
for intimidation. ● Chinese militia and coast guard vessels, Sept.–Oct. 2023

This fleet, built largely with government money, helps China dominate one of the
most crucial and disputed waterways in the world: the South China Sea. China’s
territorial claim
Other countries’ Exclusive Economic Zones

Working in tandem with an aggressive coast guard, these militarized fishing
boats assert Beijing’s presence more than 1,000 miles from the Chinese mainland.
● Positions of Chinese vessels, May–Oct. 2023

The boats patrol the tiny, disputed Spratly islets. Their reinforced steel hulls
make it easy to ram smaller boats. They swarm other countries’ outposts and
squat on shoals within sight of foreign coastlines. ● Chinese vessels,
Sept.–Oct. 2023

In confrontations with China’s militarized fleet, like this one on Oct. 22, the
Philippines’ smaller boats don’t stand a chance. China’s muscle is crucial to
its de facto control over the South China Sea.

These fishing boats, most of which don’t actually fish, make up a maritime
militia that is upending the rules of the sea. By providing backup to the China
Coast Guard and maintaining a constant presence in remote waters—often parking
on contested reefs for weeks at a time—they amplify China’s ambitions in the
South China Sea.

China’s maritime militia is made up of civilians who on paper hold jobs as
commercial fishermen. The blurring of lines is deliberate: China’s leader, Xi
Jinping, has stressed the need for civilian-military unity to promote national
security.

Such gray zone tactics help China quietly gain command over disputed areas.
Beijing has used this method across its vast frontier, from the mountainous
borders with South Asia to rocks in the East China Sea. And once China
incrementally takes over, a new reality reigns.

That reality is literally inscribed. In May, Chinese coast guard and militia
vessels operating in and near Vietnamese waters sailed routes that appeared to
trace the first Chinese character in the word “China.” And that word has also
been carved on the hills near China’s land borders.

China has already built military bases on multiple Spratly reefs. In the air
over the South China Sea, Chinese fighter jets are confronting American military
planes with greater frequency. At sea, Chinese vessels have, thus far, avoided a
deadly confrontation. But an incident in a remote part of the South China Sea
could well spark an international crisis.



Military structures and other facilities are seen on the artificial island built
by China on Subi Reef in the Spratlys.

Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

China’s militarization of the South China Sea has sharply raised tensions with
the United States. While the U.S. does not claim any territory in the waterway,
it is treaty-bound to defend the Philippines, the nation most at odds with
China. And should there be a conflict over Taiwan, the presence of Chinese
military bases and vessels nearby in the South China Sea could impede the
ability of the U.S. and its allies to maneuver.

“With the Chinese in this part of the South China Sea, it’s like fighting
water,” said Gregory B. Poling, the director of the Asia Maritime Transparency
Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, or C.S.I.S.
“You push them out and then they just come right back.”



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




AN INTIMIDATION CAMPAIGN

Off the coast of the Philippines, a tiny outpost of Philippine marines has borne
the brunt of China’s militarization of the South China Sea. Every couple of
weeks, Philippine vessels try to resupply the marines stationed at Second Thomas
Shoal. And every couple of weeks, the Chinese intervene to assert what they call
their “indisputable sovereignty” over the reef.

On Oct. 22, this intimidation was heightened when a large Chinese coast guard
ship bumped into a smaller Philippine resupply boat, forcing it to abandon its
mission.


1. THE APPROACH

3 a.m. local time

Chinese coast guard vessels

Chinese militia boats

Philippine coast guard vessels

Chinese coast guard vessels

Chinese militia boats

Philippine coast guard vessels

Chinese vessels encircled

Philippine ones as they

neared the shoal.

Chinese vessels continued to

stay dangerously close to the

Philippine resupply mission.

Philippine ships approached Second Thomas Shoal.

SECOND

THOMAS

SHOAL

SECOND

THOMAS

SHOAL

SECOND

THOMAS

SHOAL

A Chinese coast guard

vessel bumped a

Philippine resupply boat.

Chinese boats lined up at the entrance to the shoal.

One Chinese militia boat

grazed a Philippine vessel.

3 miles

Chinese vessels encircled

Philippine ones as they

neared the shoal.

Chinese vessels continued to

stay dangerously close to the

Philippine resupply mission.

Philippine ships

approached.

Chinese boats lined

up at the entrance

to the shoal.

A Chinese coast guard

vessel bumped a

Philippine resupply boat.

One Chinese militia boat

grazed a Philippine vessel.

3 miles


2. THE ENCIRCLEMENT

6 a.m. local time

Chinese vessels encircled

Philippine ones as they

neared the shoal.

Chinese vessels continued to

stay dangerously close to the

Philippine resupply mission.

Philippine ships approached Second Thomas Shoal.

SECOND

THOMAS

SHOAL

SECOND

THOMAS

SHOAL

SECOND

THOMAS

SHOAL

A Chinese coast guard

vessel bumped a

Philippine resupply boat.

Chinese boats lined up at the entrance to the shoal.

One Chinese militia boat

grazed a Philippine vessel.

3 miles

Chinese vessels encircled

Philippine ones as they

neared the shoal.

Chinese vessels continued to

stay dangerously close to the

Philippine resupply mission.

Philippine ships

approached.

Chinese boats lined

up at the entrance

to the shoal.

A Chinese coast guard

vessel bumped a

Philippine resupply boat.

One Chinese militia boat

grazed a Philippine vessel.

3 miles


3. THE STANDOFF

9 a.m. local time

Chinese vessels encircled

Philippine ones as they

neared the shoal.

Chinese vessels continued to

stay dangerously close to the

Philippine resupply mission.

Philippine ships approached Second Thomas Shoal.

SECOND

THOMAS

SHOAL

SECOND

THOMAS

SHOAL

SECOND

THOMAS

SHOAL

A Chinese coast guard

vessel bumped a

Philippine resupply boat.

Chinese boats lined up at the entrance to the shoal.

One Chinese militia boat

grazed a Philippine vessel.

3 miles

Chinese vessels encircled

Philippine ones as they

neared the shoal.

Chinese vessels continued to

stay dangerously close to the

Philippine resupply mission.

Philippine ships

approached.

Chinese boats lined

up at the entrance

to the shoal.

A Chinese coast guard

vessel bumped a

Philippine resupply boat.

One Chinese militia boat

grazed a Philippine vessel.

3 miles

Note: Trails show positions over the prior four hours. Movement data is not
available for all the ships at the scene.

This wasn’t the first dangerous encounter this year. In August, a Chinese coast
guard ship directed a water cannon at a Philippine resupply vessel. In February,
the Philippine coast guard reported that sailors were temporarily blinded by a
“military-grade laser” aimed by its Chinese counterpart.

Sept. 8, 2023

Chinese

coast guard

Chinese

coast guard

Chinese

militia

Philippine

coast guard

Chinese

militia

Philippine

coast guard

Chinese

coastguard

Chinese

coast guard

Chinese

coast guard

Chinese

militia

Philippine

coast guard

Chinese

militia

Philippine

coast guard

Chinese

coast guard

Chinese

coast guard

Chinese

militia

Chinese

coast guard

Chinese

militia

Philippine

coast guard

Source: Philippine Coast Guard

Civilians are also caught in the crosshairs. In 2019, a Filipino fishing boat
was rammed by a Chinese militia trawler, leaving the fishermen floating in the
wreckage for hours before a passing vessel saved them. From Vietnam and
Indonesia to the Philippines, fishermen say they can no longer access
traditional fishing grounds because of what is in effect a Chinese blockade.

Over the years, Chinese aggression has compelled Southeast Asian nations to
suspend oil exploration in the South China Sea, although some efforts have
started up again.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




A CONSTANT, AGGRESSIVE PRESENCE

To project Beijing’s power, militia trawlers have anchored for weeks near
China’s island military bases and on reefs that are within other nations’
waters. Rafted side by side, sometimes by the dozens, the boats often lack nets
or crews big enough to fish.

Aug. 5, 2023

1 boat

South China Sea

2 boats

2 boats

11 boats anchored together

Union Banks,

Spratly Islands

4 boats

500 feet

1 boat

South China Sea

2 boats

2 boats

11 boats anchored together

Union Banks,

Spratly Islands

4 boats

500 feet

South China Sea

1 boat

2 boats

2 boats

11 boats

anchored

together

Union Banks,

Spratly Islands

4 boats

500 feet

Sept. 9, 2023

Chinese facilities

9 boats

8 boats

2 boats

14 boats anchored together

6 boats

Mischief Reef,

Spratly Islands

5 boats

5 boats

13 boats

500 feet

Chinese facilities

9 boats

8 boats

2 boats

14 boats anchored together

6 boats

Mischief Reef,

Spratly Islands

5 boats

5 boats

13 boats

500 feet

Mischief Reef,

Spratly Islands

Chinese facilities

8 boats

2 boats

14 boats anchored together

5 boats

5 boats

13 boats

500 feet

Source: Satellite images by Planet Labs and Maxar Technologies

China’s maritime militia, by numbers and by reach, has no challenger in the
South China Sea. In fact, the fleet is far bigger than what’s needed to fish
these waters, according to an analysis by C.S.I.S.

On any given day, satellites identify hundreds of Chinese militia boats in the
South China Sea and at nearby ports.


HUNDREDS OF MILITIA BOATS CAN BE OBSERVED DAILY

Daily count of boats seen from satellite at key locations

400

Most militia boats return to port over the Chinese holidays.

300

At sea

200

At port

100

0

Oct.

Jan.

April

July

2021

2022

At sea

At port

Most militia boats

return to port over the

Chinese holidays.

400

300

200

100

0

Oct.

Jan.

April

July

2021

2022

Source: C.S.I.S. Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative

Note: Data represents the number of militia vessels seen in daily satellite
imagery from Sept. 2021 through Aug. 2022 for nine hotspots in the South China
Sea and six ports on China's southern coast.

Funding from the Chinese government keeps the militia afloat.

Dozens of Chinese militia boats are constructed by state-owned companies. These
vessels are designed for confrontation, with steel hulls, long silhouettes and
an array of weaponry. Smaller, wooden fishing boats find themselves overwhelmed.



A reinforced Chinese militia boat.

Jes Aznar for The New York Times

Other militia boats are recruited from the commercial fishing fleet. But because
the most generous Chinese government subsidies go to the biggest vessels, even
these commercial trawlers are larger than most of the Philippine coast guard’s
fleet.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




AN EMBOLDENED COAST GUARD

If the purpose of the maritime militia is to crowd contested waters, the Chinese
coast guard is also redefining its role, veering dangerously close to a military
stance.

Radiating out from the military bases China constructed by pouring sand on
underwater Spratly reefs, such as Mischief and Subi, China’s coast guard roams
the South China Sea. Chinese ships have fired water cannons at Philippine and
Vietnamese boats. They have tangled with the Indonesian Coast Guard.

And in a week in May, Chinese coast guard ships, together with maritime militia
boats, churned through waters off the coast of Vietnam in the exact same,
curious routing. The paths the vessels took created the character 中, which is
the first character in the Chinese word for “China.” The character was sprawled
over a 350-mile stretch, equivalent to the distance from New York City to
Canada.


CHINA’S COAST GUARD HAS EXPANDED THE RANGE OF ITS PATROLS

2021

CHINA

Movements of

Chinese coast

guard ships

South

China

Sea

Vietnam

Philippines

Spratly

Islands

MALAYSIA

2022

CHINA

South

China

Sea

Spratly

Islands

2023

CHINA

South

China

Sea

Spratly

Islands

Note: Data runs from Nov. 1 through Oct. 31 for each year.

The Chinese coast guard is now the world’s largest, and its range and presence
in the South China Sea have increased dramatically in recent years. Stocked with
retired navy corvettes and newer vessels that are longer than most U.S. Navy
destroyers, the Chinese coast guard boasts ships that dwarf those of other
nations.

Philippine coast guard

Chinese coast guard

Chinese coast guard

Chinese coast

guard

Philippine

coast guard

Chinese coast

guard

Chinese coast guard

Philippine coast guard

Chinese coast guard

Jes Aznar for The New York Times

With an emboldened Chinese coast guard flanked by a powerful maritime militia,
there are fears growing of a showdown in the South China Sea.

“Every single reef has some fraction of a percent of a chance,” Mr. Poling said,
“to be the next international flashpoint.”



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------





About the ship data: The graphics use the automatic identification systems (AIS)
track data of 174 militia fishing boats and 75 coast guard ships. The militia
boats were identified by the C.S.I.S. Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative,
including the ones identified as “highly likely” to be militia. The coast guard
ships were identified by Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National
Security Innovation, and from news reports compiled by The New York Times. This
data is an undercount of coast guard and militia activity because data reception
is limited, some ships do not transmit information, and some ships transmit
incorrect information. The last step of the top map includes an episode at the
Second Thomas Shoal that shows vessel positions at 5 a.m. local time on Oct. 22,
2023 and vessel tracks over the prior ten hours.

Sources: Spire Global; Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to
the United Nations; Esri; Flanders Marine Institute

Shawn Paik contributed reporting.


Read 150 Comments
 * Share full article
 * 
 * 
 * 150



Advertisement

SKIP ADVERTISEMENT




SITE INDEX




SITE INFORMATION NAVIGATION

 * © 2023 The New York Times Company

 * NYTCo
 * Contact Us
 * Accessibility
 * Work with us
 * Advertise
 * T Brand Studio
 * Your Ad Choices
 * Privacy Policy
 * Terms of Service
 * Terms of Sale
 * Site Map
 * Canada
 * International
 * Help
 * Subscriptions




Enjoy unlimited access to all of The Times.

See subscription options