Coast Guard curbs foreign infringements

The China Coast Guard has taken firm law-enforcement action against foreign infringement and provocations while fulfilling its international cooperation responsibilities to safeguard maritime order, CCG officials said on Friday.

Zhang Jianming, director-general of the CCG, told the press that it has taken measures tailored to each situation, in line with laws and regulations, to curb infringement and provocations by relevant countries.

"The CCG has effectively deterred 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities and resolutely safeguarded national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests," Zhang said.

He made the remarks on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the China Coast Guard Law, which came into effect on Feb 1, 2021.

Over the past five years, the CCG has deployed vessels on about 550,000 occasions and aircraft on 6,000 occasions to carry out maritime rights protection missions. It has conducted 134 patrols in the territorial waters of the Diaoyu Islands, with patrols in 2025 covering 357 days, according to Zhang.

Regular rights protection patrols have also been carried out in the East China, South China and Yellow seas, he added, along with law-enforcement control in the territorial waters of Huangyan Island and its surrounding areas.

Regarding patrols in waters surrounding the island of Taiwan and its neighboring islands, Zhang said the CCG has established a framework for managing the Taiwan Strait in accordance with the one-China principle and the law.

"Over the past five years, the CCG has continued to innovate operational strategies, optimize control mechanisms, and strengthen capacity building," he said, adding that it has been able to detect foreign infringement activities promptly and respond rapidly and effectively.

Zhang also noted breakthroughs in integrated sea-air patrols around the Diaoyu Islands, helping to shape a new posture for maritime rights protection.

Since the law's implementation, the CCG has also made significant achievements in international and regional maritime governance, combating drug-related crimes, and protecting the maritime environment, according to officials.

Liu Dejun, spokesman for the CCG, said the coast guard conducts law-enforcement patrols in the territorial waters of China's Huangyan Island and adjacent areas in accordance with both domestic and international laws. In a statement, the CCG said it carried out such patrols in the area on Friday.

"In addition to issuing warnings to and expelling foreign vessels and aircraft engaged in illegal or disruptive activities, the CCG also provides assistance to vessels in distress in surrounding waters," Liu said.

Last week, the CCG successfully rescued 17 Filipino crew members northwest of Huangyan Island and transferred them to the Philippine Coast Guard. Liu said the operation fully demonstrated China's image as a responsible major country.

He also highlighted the CCG's efforts to protect the surrounding ecosystem following the establishment of the Huangyan Island National Nature Reserve, noting that it remains healthy and stable, with rich biodiversity.

Liu Zhixu, head of the international cooperation division at the CCG's law enforcement department, said the CCG rescued eight South Korean crew members last year.

"We will continue to fulfill the international cooperation responsibilities entrusted by the Coast Guard Law and work together to safeguard international and regional maritime order," Liu said.

Fu Yanxiao, deputy director of the CCG's criminal investigation division, said that coast guard agencies at all levels have investigated 23 drug-related cases over the past five years, seizing approximately 19 metric tons of drugs.

He highlighted a case on Feb 24 last year, in which China cooperated with anti-drug authorities from the United States and Thailand to seize around 5 tons of methamphetamine on a foreign vessel in the southwest waters of Huangyan Island, calling it a model for international law enforcement collaboration.