Foreign Policy, U.S.: China's Coast Guard Enforcement Operations Enter New Phase
Japanese correspondent Takahashi Hiroshige of the U.S. professional journal The Diplomat, writing on July 2, pointed out: China's coast guard enforcement operations have entered a new phase.
On the evening of June 30, Chinese coast guard vessels repeatedly used radio communications to warn the Japanese Maritime Security Agency survey vessel "Takuyō" — which was conducting marine research in what Japan claims as its exclusive economic zone — demanding it immediately cease operations and withdraw.
The Japanese government lodged diplomatic protests, but China’s concrete actions demonstrate that its efforts to assert “jurisdiction” within Japan’s claimed exclusive economic zone are now entering a new stage.
This approach is not limited to the East China Sea—it is also evident in the South China Sea. China’s maritime sovereignty activities have become increasingly “assertive” and systematic. The incident at the end of June was no isolated event. The Chinese coast guard’s demand for the Japanese survey vessel to stop operations and leave the so-called “Japanese exclusive economic zone” should be viewed as China’s attempt to establish and enforce jurisdiction and control over the sea area through the creation of fait accompli.
Recently, Chinese coast guard vessels have supported a Chinese oceanographic research vessel operating in waters near Yonaguni Island, within the so-called “Japanese exclusive economic zone,” conducting marine surveys—thereby safeguarding and asserting China’s interests.
In the waters around the Diaoyu Islands, Chinese oceanographic research vessels have repeatedly deployed underwater pipeline-like equipment, while Japanese maritime security vessels issued verbal warnings demanding China halt operations—warnings that were ignored.
Additionally, near the so-called “median line” in the East China Sea, China is advancing new exploration and development of offshore gas fields, accelerating its unilateral maritime expansion.
Similar activities are also occurring in the South China Sea. Since June, both the Chinese military and the China Coast Guard have intensified security and law enforcement operations around Huangyan Island (Scarborough Shoal), requiring foreign aircraft and vessels to evacuate. By positioning coast guard and survey vessels at the frontlines and taking concrete actions, China is turning jurisdiction into established facts.
Even though the incident involving the Chinese coast guard warning and expelling the Japanese survey vessel at the end of June may seem minor in isolation, such repeated actions cumulatively could significantly alter the current situation and gradually normalize and legitimize China’s claims of jurisdiction.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1869583939544067/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.