China Coast Guard

Beijing’s primary tool for coercion that stays below the legal threshold of war. - Enforces China’s claims through ‘control measures’ short of gunfire

A month ago, China's coast guard escalated beyond shoving resupply convoys—it blasted water cannons at small Philippine fishing boats near Sabina (Escoda) Shoal, damaged two vessels, and left three fishermen injured, while Chinese craft allegedly cut anchor lines and boxed out rescuers. Manila filed a diplomatic protest calling the actions "dangerous" and "inhumane." But the pressure hasn't stopped: in early January 2026, Chinese naval and coast guard vessels appeared during a search-and-rescue operation off Zambales—closer to the Philippine mainland than the usual reef flashpoints.

Updated Jan 11

The China Coast Guard (CCG) is Beijing’s main maritime law-enforcement force, heavily armed and frequently deployed to assert China’s claims in contested waters. - Conducting assertive patrols near the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands and confronting Japanese vessels

On December 6, 2025, two Chinese J-15 carrier-based fighter jets from the aircraft carrier Liaoning intermittently illuminated their fire-control radar on Japanese Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) F-15 fighters over international waters southeast of Okinawa, in two encounters lasting roughly three minutes and about thirty minutes respectively. Japan’s defense minister Shinjiro Koizumi denounced the radar lock-ons—which militaries treat as the step immediately before weapons launch—as “dangerous” and “extremely regrettable,” and Tokyo lodged a formal protest with Beijing. Analysts noted this was the first publicly acknowledged fire-control radar lock between Chinese and Japanese military aircraft, echoing a 2013 episode when a Chinese frigate locked weapons radar on a Japanese destroyer near the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.

Updated Dec 11, 2025