By Jeff Gilmour, 26 August 2026
An article (“Out of the Shadows”) published in The Economist in July reported that last December, over 1,000 fishing vessels from China’s eastern seaboard lined up in an inverted L-shape in the seas north of Taiwan and held this formation for more than 12 hours and then dispersed.[1] Over the next four months, these fishing boats formed up again four times, in a similar formation, in the East China Sea.
As noted in this article, China is unusual in having three separate maritime forces at its disposal, the navy, the coast guard and its fishing fleet. These fishing boats are often sent to disputed reefs and islands to press China’s sovereignty claims. Chinese defence officials have praised this ‘third force’ as ‘irreplaceable’ based on its wide distribution, disguised identities, familiarization with the maritime conditions and knowledge of the areas.
Some fishing boats received subsidies and traded their role in fishing to become full-time militia, crewing large, steel-hulled vessels equipped with big water cannons and communications gear. Particularly in the South China Sea, they swarm around the shoals and reefs China claims, carrying out surveillance and harassing foreign vessels.
In 2015, CSIS, an American think-tank, counted 241 Chinese vessels it believes were militia fishing boats operating in the South China Sea region every day. This fleet shows a high degree of political control, which is unusual in a civilian fleet.
As noted in the article, in an invasion of Taiwan, this fishing fleet might help the navy with reconnaissance, logistics, and/or cutting undersea cables. As well, a large number of these vessels could impose a blockade on the island.
[1] The Economist, “Out of the Shadows” July 25, pp. 31& 32.
Image: (March 8, 2009) A crewmember on a Chinese trawler uses a grapple hook in an apparent attempt to snag the towed acoustic array of the military Sealift Command ocean surveillance ship USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23), 75 miles south of Hainan Island. Credit: U.S. Navy
