{"id":35990,"date":"2019-05-31T09:00:49","date_gmt":"2019-05-31T09:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/05\/31\/testing-the-waters-chinas-maritime-militia-challenges-foreign-forces-at-sea\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:56:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:56:11","slug":"testing-the-waters-chinas-maritime-militia-challenges-foreign-forces-at-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/asia-pacific\/2019\/05\/31\/testing-the-waters-chinas-maritime-militia-challenges-foreign-forces-at-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Testing the waters: China\u2019s maritime militia challenges foreign forces at sea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Singapore \u2014 China\u2019s so-called maritime militia is believed to be behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navytimes.com\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/05\/28\/aussie-navy-pilots-hit-by-chinese-lasers\/\" target=_blank>a series of laser attacks<\/a> against an Australian naval helicopter over the South China Sea, soon after a U.S. admiral warned that the paramilitary force could be treated as combatants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A report in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on May 29, quoting Australian Defence Department sources, said that the crew of a Royal Australian Navy helicopter was targeted by lasers from nearby fishing vessels during a night flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The helicopter landed safely on its ship following the attack, where crew members were given a medical checkup and cleared of any injury. The helicopter was flying from an Australian naval ship taking part in a regional engagement mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The report did not say if the fishing vessel that targeted the helicopter with lasers was Chinese-flagged, although that country has the largest such fleet in the region by far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, some believe that many of these vessels are not engaged in fishing activities, but in fact belong to the maritime militia, a paramilitary force engaged in \u201cpatrol, surveillance, resupply, and other missions to bolster China\u2019s presence in contested waters in the South and East China Seas,\u201d according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/training-sim\/2019\/05\/28\/taiwan-lands-aircraft-on-highway-as-part-of-military-drills\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP19148169505317.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Taiwan lands aircraft on highway as part of military drills<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The drill marked the debut of the first F-16 upgraded to the &quot;V&quot; configuration, featuring advanced radar and other combat capabilities.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>What makes up the maritime militia? <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to Andrew Erickson, a professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College\u2019s China Maritime Studies Institute, China\u2019s maritime militia is a component of China\u2019s armed forces and is employed in so-called gray zone operations, or \u201clow-intensity maritime rights protection struggles,\u201d at a level designed to frustrate effective response by the other parties involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Erickson asserts that China has used the militia to advance its disputed sovereignty claims in international sea incidents throughout the South and East China seas. For its part, the CSIS think tank believes \u201csome of the best-trained and best-equipped members engage in overt paramilitary activities such as the harassment of foreign vessels operating near Chinese-held islets or dangerous standoffs with vessels from neighboring states,\u201d such as an incident in 2014 when China deployed an oil rig in waters claimed by Vietnam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Writing on his personal website, Erickson said the units engaged in such incidents incorporate marine industry workers, such as fishermen, directly into China\u2019s military. Though they retain their day jobs, they can go through training as militia members by China\u2019s People\u2019s Liberation Army Navy and can be activated on demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3500\" height=\"2039\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9_special_maritime.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-77681\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9_special_maritime.jpg.jpg 3500w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9_special_maritime.jpg.jpg?resize=300,175 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9_special_maritime.jpg.jpg?resize=768,447 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9_special_maritime.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,597 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9_special_maritime.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,895 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9_special_maritime.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1193 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3500px) 100vw, 3500px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An aerial shot from a Philippine Air Force plane of the Chinese claimed Subi Reef is shown in April 2017. (Ted Aljibe\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Echoing this, the Pentagon\u2019s 2019 China Military Power Report called the militia \u201ca subset of China\u2019s national militia, an armed reserve force of civilians available for mobilization.\u201d The report added that the force \u201cplays a major role in coercive activities to achieve China\u2019s political goals without fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">China has been developing more professionalized, militarized, well-paid full-time units including military recruits, and it is crewing 84 purpose-built vessels with mast-mounted water cannons for spraying and with reinforced steel hulls for ramming. Typical of these vessels are what the CSIS report calls the \u201cYue Tai Yu fleet\u201d \u2014 nine 62.8-meter trawlers built by Guangxin Shipbuilding &amp; Heavy Industry in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CSIS used these vessels\u2019 automatic identification systems to track them on the intermittent occasions they broadcast their positions. The think tank determined that after leaving the shipyard that built them, the trawlers traveled to the coastal port of Shadi in Guangdong province and spent the next year traveling back and forth between this home port and the disputed chain of Spratly Islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/navy-league\/2019\/05\/08\/the-pacific-fleet-has-drawn-a-red-line\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4_pacificfleet.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">The Pacific Fleet has drawn a \u2018red line\u2019<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The regime in the Pacific has changed, and so have the standards.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While there, the vessels made lengthy stays at Subi and Mischief reefs, and they visited China\u2019s Gaven, Johnson and hughes Reefs, all of which are part of China\u2019s \u201cGreat Wall of Sand,\u201d where islands have been reclaimed from the sea, and on which the country has built extensive military facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the strongest evidence that those trawlers are part of the maritime militia status stems from the substantial amount of time they spent loitering in the waters around the Philippine-occupied Thitu and Loaita islands, according to CSIS. High-resolution satellite imagery of the vessels also suggests they spend little, if any time, fishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>A warning<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">China doesn\u2019t attempt to hide the existence of the maritime militia; the country acknowledges it is part of the state security apparatus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fact, Adm. John Richardson, the outgoing U.S. Navy chief of naval operations, in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Adm. Shen Jinlong, warned that he is aware China uses non-military ships to help Beijing stake its claims in the disputed South China Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Richardson also said during the meeting in January that the U.S. will respond to aggressive acts by those ships the same way it has with ships the People\u2019s Liberation Army Navy, according to an interview with Britain\u2019s Financial Times newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the officer did not specify what those measures will be. And given that hundreds of maritime militia boats swarmed the waters around the Philippine-held Thitu Island, China appears to have been undeterred by the warning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What makes up China&#8217;s maritime militia, and how secret of an organization is it really?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":77678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":45,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[45,160,11,16,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3419],"class_list":["post-35990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-naval","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"FAGQCH74DNF3BH2BCEJNAYTJKI","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/asia-pacific\/2019\/05\/31\/testing-the-waters-chinas-maritime-militia-challenges-foreign-forces-at-sea\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Testing the waters: China\u2019s maritime militia challenges foreign forces at sea - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What makes up China&#039;s maritime militia, and how secret of an organization is it really?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Testing the waters: China\u2019s maritime militia challenges foreign forces at sea\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What makes up China&#039;s maritime militia, and how secret of an organization is it really?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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