Coast guard to strengthen patrols

The China Coast Guard will strengthen patrols jointly carried out by vessels, patrol aircraft and shipborne helicopters in the future to improve its ability to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, the head of the coast guard's law enforcement department said.

In recent years, the CCG has enhanced its aviation law enforcement capabilities, focusing on low-altitude patrols, personnel deployment and ship-aircraft joint operations, Zhang Jianming, head of the law enforcement department of the CCG, said on Sunday.

"The CCG has established initial capabilities for ship-aircraft coordination and remote joint enforcement," he said. "The new model has been widely practiced across various levels of the CCG. And it has significantly improved the CCG's enforcement efficiency and effectiveness."

Last year, the CCG deployed helicopters with a fleet of vessels to the Pacific and Arctic Oceans for the first time to engage in fisheries law enforcement in international waters. They also sent patrol aircraft and shipborne helicopters to conduct law enforcement in territorial and adjacent waters near the Xisha Islands and Huangyan Island, Zhang said.

According to the China Coast Guard Law, which was put into force on Feb 1, 2021, the CCG is authorized to conduct law enforcement activities to protect the rights of maritime areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China and in the airspace above them.

In January, the CCG released a video for its training mobilization for 2025 featuring patrol aircraft and shipborne helicopters.

"The CCG will continue to strengthen its law enforcement capabilities, particularly by enhancing ship-aircraft coordination to improve the force's ability to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, and take part in international maritime governance," Zhang said.

"The CCG spared no effort to enhance the level of rule of law and standardization in maritime law enforcement in 2024. By ensuring security and stability of the jurisdictional waters and the successful completion of major tasks, the force has effectively safeguarded national sovereignty, security and development interests," he added.

Last year, the CCG also strengthened efforts to combat maritime smuggling activities. It handled 601 maritime smuggling cases and seized a large amount of frozen goods, refined oil, cigarettes and coal worth 830 million yuan ($1.15 million). It also seized 3.8 metric tons of drugs, Zhang said.

Furthermore, it stepped up efforts to enhance international law enforcement cooperation last year, Liu Dejun, deputy head of the force's law enforcement department, said.

"We have conducted international exchanges and cooperation 58 times with countries including Russia, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. And the number of joint international law enforcement missions that the CCG took part in increased 45 percent year-on-year, which is quite a breakthrough," Liu said.