In June 2018, the China Coast Guard was granted maritime rights and law enforcement akin to civilian law enforcement agencies in order to carry out law enforcement against illegal activities, keep peace and order, as well as safeguarding security at sea, in all areas involved with the use of marine resources, protection of marine environment, regulation of fishery, and anti-smuggling.[7] The Coast Guard Law of 1 February 2021 allows CCG ships to use lethal force on foreign ships that do not obey orders to leave Chinese waters.[8][9] In June 2024, a domestic regulation came into force empowering the CCG to detain foreign vessels and persons up to 60 days.[10]
The CCG duty is to perform regular patrols and reactive actions (such as Search and Rescue) on the coastal, near sea, and open ocean areas of its jurisdiction (and international waters). These actions include principally law enforcement tasks such as interdicting smuggling, illegal fisheries control, and protecting the environment (such as stopping coral fishing and pollutant dumping).[11]
The CCG also serves as an armed border guard, protecting China's claimed maritime borders, which often leads to conflict and controversy. As a constituent part of the Chinese Armed Forces (being subordinate to the PAP), on wartime it would be placed under the operational control of the People's Liberation Army Navy, in which case it would be likely to play support roles and rear-area escort (like its USCG counterparts, which is also a branch of the military, its ships are not equipped for full military combat).[citation needed]
Another set of responsibilities come from Maritime safety. While maritime safety, SAR, and the enforcement of the rules of marine safety is the main remit of the China Maritime Safety Administration, and the leading organ in active SAR is the China Rescue and Salvage Bureau, the CCG, as the main maritime law enforcement agency, is involved very often in rescue operations.[15] It also supports the CMSA in enforcing maritime safety rules and inspect ships suspected of presenting risks to navigation.[citation needed]
International cooperation and coordination is one of the official tasks of the CCG. Part of this is cooperation with friendly nations for mutually beneficial tasks (such as cooperating with Russia in fishery operations, as part of the plan for the opening and operation of an Arctic passage).[16][17]
More critical is cooperation with neighboring states on matters of mutual interest, in particular fisheries and smuggling. The frequency of that cooperation often correlates with the state of bilateral relationships, but institutional connections do remain continuously active.[18][19]
In the 2000s and early 2010s, the Chinese Coast Guard (Before 2013, the Maritime Police and China Marine Surveillance) conducted periodic joint-training sessions with other navies in the North Pacific, including the US Coast Guard service.[20] The Chinese Coast Guard has also participated in the annual North Pacific Coast Guard Agencies Forum in Alaska, along with the US, Canadian, Japanese, South Korean, and Russian Coast Guards. As part of an exchange program, around 109 members of the Chinese Coast Guard service have served on U.S. Coast Guard cutters.[21][22]
Badge of China Coast Guard before 2013, when part of the PAP Border Security Force under the Ministry of Public Security.
The worsening of US-China relationships in the last few years (as of 2024), in particular the ongoing conflict regarding the South China Sea (in which the CCG is directly involved) have all but ended the co-training missions with the USCG, although the purely civilian CMSA still keeps a very close working relationship with its counterparts in the US and Japan.[citation needed]
Territorial sovereignty and rights protection[edit]
As China's claims of sovereign waters are extensive and overlap with several other countries, enforcing this doctrine has created a very large number of incidents and controversies involving the CCG.[23][10] These often escalate to skirmishes and tense brinkmanship in what has been called grey-zone operations.[24] The CCG is at the forefront of these incidents (often alongside the People's Armed Forces Maritime Militia).[25] The probable reason for that usage, according to international analysts[26][27] is that putting the paramilitary "White Hulls" (the CCG) and the "Blue Hulls" (the PAFMM) at the forefront avoids the dangerous escalation that would happen if the unambiguously military "Gray Hulls" (the PLAN) were involved in an incident.[28][29]
The CCG is very active in patrolling those rights.[30] The result is a significant number of incidents of varying levels of tension.[23] In 2019, the United States issued a warning to China over aggressive and unsafe action by their Coast Guard and maritime militia.[31] In 2023, the Coast Guard used water cannons on Philippines military ships in contested waters.[32] In 2024, the PAFMM and CCG entered into a tense standoff with the Philippines over the Second Thomas Shoal.[10][33]
After the reform in 2018, CCG consists of three area commands (administratively sub-bureaus), subdivided into detachments (administratively local bureaus).
People's Armed Police Coast Guard Corps East China Sea Command (China Coast Guard East China Sea Sub-bureau) corps deputy grade unit
China Coast Guard Shucha II-class Cutter Haijing 3306.
Chinese Coast Guard ships are painted white with a blue stripe and the words "China Coast Guard" in English and Chinese. CCG ships have hull numbers in the format "Haijing-XX", where XX is a number (up to five figures). Due to the amalgamation of so many forces to form the CCG, the number of ship types and their denomination is very varied and very confusing, with ships often still being referred to with their old "Haijian" (for Marine Surveillance), "Haiguan" (for Customs) or "Yuzheng" (for FLEC) numbers, or referred with their numbers prior to the (ongoing) renumbering.[34]
Before the unification of the CCG, the typical Border Guard Maritime Police boats included the 130 ton Type 218 patrol boat (100 boats), armed with twin 14.5mm machine guns, assorted speedboats, and few larger patrol ships. The largest ship in Chinese Border Patrol Maritime Police service was the 1,500 ton Type 718 cutter (31101 Pudong).[citation needed]
In March 2007, it was reported that the PLAN had transferred two repurposed Type 053 Frigates (renamed Type 728 cutter after the remodeling) (44102, ex-509 Changde; 46103, ex-510 Shaoxing) to the Coast Guard and re-numbered them as Haijing 1002 & Haijing 1003. At the time these ships were the largest vessels in the China Coast Guard inventory. Three more Type 053s were transferred in 2015 (31239, 31240, 31241).[35]
In May 2017, it was reported that China had deployed the 12,000 ton Zhaotou-class patrol cutter China Coast Guard Haijing 3901 (cutter No. 1123 in USI numbers), later renumbered Haijing 5901, to patrol its claimed islands in the disputed South China Sea.[36][37] The CCG 5901 is the world's biggest coast guard cutter, and is larger than the U.S. Navy's 9,800 ton Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers or the 8,300-9,300 ton Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers.[a][38] The CCG 3901 cutter is armed with 76mm H/PJ-26 rapid fire naval guns, two auxiliary guns, and two anti-aircraft guns. A second unit, 2901 was deployed in 2020.[39]
Between mid 2021 and January 2023, the Coast Guard received 22 coastal defense Type 056 corvettes transferred from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy.[40]
A 2019 estimate of the total number of hulls that can be deployed by the CCG counted 140 regional and oceangoing patrol vessels (more than 1,000 tons displacement), 120 regional offshore patrol boats (500 to 999 tons), 450 coastal and riverine patrol craft (100 to 499 tons), and 600 inshore patrol boats/minor craft (<100tons).[41][42][34]
The CCG has dozens of bases and facilities up and down the coast of China, some very small, their variegated nature again the result of the Coast Guard's mixed origin. The following are some of the largest and most significant.[34]
China Maritime Safety Administration takes on the navigation safety and control duties, including harbormaster powers in most ports. It was not merged with the new coast guard in 2013.
China Marine Surveillance Defunct in July 2013. The present China Coast Guard is a unified force that conducts law-enforcement operations in waters administered by China.
^Although the Zhaotou are not equipped with the electronics or armament to make them even vaguely comparable warships. The Zhaotou are armed for constabulary work, would not survive frontline use in war. Their large displacement mostly provides endurance and internal space
^Tate, Andrew (June 26, 2018). "Control over China Coast Guard to be transferred to CMC". Jane's Information Group. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2018. Legislation passed by the National People's Congress (NPC) on 22 June will implement changes announced in March that the CCG will come under the control of the People's Armed Police Force (PAPF) and, ultimately, the command of China's Central Military Commission (CMC).
